PAULINE  FORE  MOFFITT 
LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE  WELL-CONSIDERED  GARDEN 


THE 

WELL-CONSIDERED 
GARDEN 


BY 

MRS.  FRANCIS  KING 


ILLUSTRATED 


WITH    PREFACE   BT 

GERTRUDE  JEKYLL 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  ::  ::  ::  MCMXVH 


COPTBIQHT,  1915,  BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER*S  SONS 

Published  May,  1015 
Reprinted  October,  1915 
May,  1916;  April,  1917 


TO 

THE  DEAR  MEMORY 

OF 
A  RARE  GARDENER 

A.  R.  K. 


2054023 


J\ 


NOTE 

To  the  publishers  and  editors  of  The  Garden 
Magazine  my  thanks  are  due  for  kind  permission 
to  reprint  here  those  portions  of  this  book  which 
originally  appeared  in  the  columns  of  that  peri- 
odical. To  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Soci- 
ety and  to  The  Garden  Club  of  America  I  am 
indebted  for  the  use  of  passages  written  for  those 
organizations.  And  to  the  several  amateur  gar- 
deners, known  and  unknown  to  me,  whose  writing 
or  whose  photographs  grace  these  pages,  I  offer 
here  most  hearty  appreciation  of  their  friendly 
aid. 

LOUISA  YEOMANS  KING. 

OBCHABD  HOUSE, 


PREFACE 

THE  wide-spread  interest  in  gardening  that  is 
steadily  growing  throughout  the  land  will  have 
prepared  a  large  public  for  the  reception  of  such 
stimulating  encouragement  as  will  be  found  in 
the  following  pages.  One  thinks  of  a  great  and 
fertile  field  ready  ploughed  and  sown,  and  only 
waiting  for  genial  warmth  and  moisture  to  make 
it  burst  forth  into  life  and  eventual  abundance. 
The  book  will  come  as  these  vivifying  influences. 
The  author's  practical  knowledge,  keen  insight, 
and  splendid  enthusiasm,  her  years  of  labor  on 
her  own  land  and  her  constant  example  and  en- 
couragement of  others  —  combine  to  make  her  one 
of  those  most  fitted  to  direct  energy,  to  suggest 
and  instruct  —  to  communicate  her  own  thought 
and  practise  to  willing  learners. 

Many  are  those  who  love  their  gardens,  many 
who  know  their  plants,  many  who  understand  their 
best  ways  of  culture.  All  these  qualities  or  accom- 
plishments are  necessary,  but  besides  and  above 
them  all  is  the  will  or  determination  to  do  the  best 
possible  —  "to  garden  finely"  —  as  Bacon  puts  it. 
ix 


PREFACE 

Such  a  desire  is  often  felt,  but  from  lack  of  ex- 
perience it  cannot  be  brought  into  effect.  What 
is  needed  for  the  doing  of  the  best  gardening  is 
something  of  an  artist's  training,  or  at  any  rate 
the  possession  of  such  a  degree  of  aptitude  —  the 
God-given  artist's  gift  —  as  with  due  training  may 
make  an  artist;  for  gardening,  in  its  best  expres- 
sion, may  well  rank  as  one  of  the  fine  arts.  But 
without  the  many  years  of  labor  needed  for 
any  hope  of  success  in  architecture,  sculpture,  or 
painting,  there  are  certain  simple  rules,  wb»ss 
observance,  carried  out  in  horticulture,  wiit  make 
all  the  difference  between  a  garden  that  is  utterly 
commonplace  and  one  that  is  full  of  beauty  and 
absorbing  interest. 

Of  these  one  of  the  chief  is  a  careful  considera- 
tion of  color  arrangement.  Early  in  her  garden- 
ing career  this  fact  impressed  itself  upon  the 
author's  mind.  A  study  of  the  book  reveals  the 
method  and  gives  a  large  quantity  of  applied 
example.  A  few  such  lessons  put  in  practise  will 
assuredly  lead  on  to  independent  effort;  for  the 
learner,  diligently  reading  and  carefully  following 
the  good  guidance,  will  soon  find  the  way  open  to 
a  whole  new  field  of  beauty  and  delight. 

GERTRUDE  JEKTLL. 


CONTENTS 

MM 

I.    COLOR  HARMONY 1 

II.    COMPANION  CROPS 25 

III.  SUCCESSION  CROPS 39 

IV.  JOYS  AND  SORROWS  OF  A  TRIAL  GARDEN   .    .  51 
V.    BALANCE  IN  THE  FLOWER  GARDEN      ...  63 

VI.    COLOR  HARMONIES  IN  THE  SPRING  GARDEN   .  75 

VII.    THE  CROCUS  AND  OTHER  EARLY  BULBS  .    .  89 

VIII.    COLOR  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  DARWIN  TULIPS 

AND  OTHER  SPRING-FLOWERING  BULBS     .  101 

IX.    NOTES  ON  SPRING  FLOWERS 115 

X.    A  SMALL  SPRING  FLOWER  BORDER  ....  129 

XI.    NOTES  ON  SOME  OF  THE  NEWER  GLADIOLI    .  143 

XII.    MIDSUMMER  POMPS 157 

XIII.  GARDEN  ACCESSORIES     .    .    .    ' 179 

XIV.  GARDENING  EXPEDIENTS 191 

XV.    THE  QUESTION  OF  THE  GARDENER  ....  205 

XVI.    NECESSITIES  AND  LUXURIES  IN  GARDEN  BOOKS  219 

XVII.    VARIOUS  GARDENS 289 

APPENDIX 269 

INDEX  .                                                         ,  283 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Sea  Lavender  and  Delphinium  in  a  Nantucket  Garden    Frontispiece 

FACIKO   PAGE 

Tulip  Kaufmanniaua  with  Scilla  Sibirica 16 

Tulips  Reverend  H.  Ewbank  and  Clara  Butt,  below  Blooming 

Lilac 16 

Sea-holly  and  Phlox  Pantheon 22 

Phlox  Aurore  Boreale,  Sea-holly,  and  Chrysanthemum  Maxi- 


22 


Muscari  Heavenly  Blue,  Tulipa  Retroflexa,  and  Myosotis 

along  Brick  Walk       ...........  28 

Arabis  and  Tulip  Cottage  Maid        ........  28 

Double  GypsophUa  and  Shasta  Daisy     .......  28 

Gypsophila  and  Lilies  in  the  Garden      .......  82 

The  Time  of  Lilies  and  Delphiniums      .......  36 

Borders  of  Pale  Blue,  Blue-Purple,  and  Pale  Yellow  ...  42 

Tulip  Cottage  Maid  with  Arabis  Alpina     ......  42 

Munstead  Primrose  and  Tulip  White  Swan  on  Slope  below 

Poplar  and  Pine    ............  46 

Peonies  and  Canterbury  Bells      .........  48 

Discreet  Use  of  Rambler  Rose,  Lady  Gay  ......  48 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACIHO  FAGI 

Heuchera  Sanguinea  Hybrids 56 

Rambler  Rose  Lady  Gay  over  Gate 56 

Hybrid  Columbines  below  Briar  Rose  Lady  Penzance      .     .  60 

Narcissus  Barri  Flora  Wilson 60 

The  Time  of  Gypsophila    .' 68 

Hardy  Asters  in  September 72 

Puschkinia  below  Shrubs 80 

Tulip  Kaufmanniana  in  Border 80 

Crocus  Mont  Blanc 86 

Darwin  Tulips  at  the  Haarlem  (Holland)  Jubilee  Show,  1910  86 

Hyacinthus  Lineatus,  Var.  Azureus 98 

Tulip  Kaufmanniana 98 

Tulip  Vitellina,  Phlox  Divaricata 104 

Tulip  Gesneriana  Elegans  Lutea  Pallida  above  Phlox  Divari- 
cata Laphami        104 

Pink  Canterbury  Bells,  Stachys  Lanata 110 

Bell  is  Perennis  and  Narcissus  Poeticus         110 

Darwin  Tulips  with  Iris  Germanica        122 

A  Spring  Flower  Border  in  Pale  Blue,  Yellow,  and  Mauve     .  132 

Gladiolus  America  below  Buddleia 150 

Delphinium  La  France,  Campanula  Persicif olia,  Digitalis  Ani- 

bigua,  and  Pyrethrum 160 


\ 
ILLUSTRATIONS 

»ACDIQ  PAGE 

Delphiniums  the  Alake  and  Statuaire  Rude 164 

Buddleia  Variabilis  Magnifica,  White  Zinnia  below     ...  172 

The  Trowel,  tiie  Label,  and  Various  Baskets 186 

Baptisia  Australia 226 

Garden  at  London  Flower  Show  of  1912 242 

Detail  of  another  Garden  at  London  Flower  Show,  1912        .  242 

Terrace  Planting,  Garden  on  Nantucket 244 

Phlox  Time,  Garden  at  Gates  Mills,  Ohio    ...  ^  ...  244 

At  Swampscott,  Massachusetts 254 

Fernbrook,  Lenox,  Massachusetts 264 

Fancy  Field,  Chestnut  Hill,  Pennsylvania 258 

Rustic  Arbor  and  Pergola  in  Tacoma  Garden— First  Year     .  262 

Thornewood,  American  Lake,  Tacoma         264 

Glendessary,  Santa  Barbara,  California       .     .  7 .     4 '    .     .  264 

Planting  Plans  J'or  Color End  of  Volume 

Color  Arrangement  of  Late  Tulips 

Suggestion  for  Spring  Planting  before  Shrubbery 

Parterre  of  Spring  Flowers  (City) 

Section  of  Simple  Planting  against  Brick  Wall" 


I 

COLOR   HARMONY 


"The  simple  magic  of  color  for  its  own  sake  can  never 
be  displaced,  yet  a  garden  in  the  highest  sense  means  more 
than  this."— E.  V.  B. 


COLOR    HARMONY 

THE  broadest  consideration  of  color  in  gar- 
dening would  turn  our  minds  to  the  gen- 
eral color  effect  of  a  garden  in  relation  to  its  large 
setting  of  country.  Was  it  not  Ruskin  who,  in 
spite  of  his  rages  at  the  average  mid-Victorian 
garden,  said  that  gardens  as  well  as  houses  should 
be  of  a  general  color  to  harmonize  with  the  sur- 
rounding country  —  certain  tones  for  the  simple 
blue  country  of  England,  others  for  the  colder 
gray  country  of  Italy  ?  Never  was  sounder  color 
advice  given  than  that  contained  in  the  following 
lines  from  one  of  the  Oxford  Lectures:  "Bluish 
purple  is  the  only  flower  color  which  nature  ever 
used  in  masses  of  distant  effect;  this,  however, 
she  does  in  the  case  of  most  heathers  —  with  the 
rhododendron  (ferrugineum) ,  and  less  extensively 
with  the  colder  color  of  the  wood  hyacinth;  ac- 
cordingly, the  large  rhododendron  may  be  used 
to  almost  any  extent  in  masses;  the  pale  varieties 
of  the  rose  more  sparingly,  and  on  the  turf  the 
3 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

wild  violet  and  the  pansy  should  be  sown  by 
chance,  so  that  they  may  grow  in  undulations  of 
color,  and  should  be  relieved  by  a  few  prim- 
roses." 

There  never  was  so  rich  a  time  as  the  present 
for  the  great  quantity  of  material  available  for  use 
in  the  study  of  garden  color.  The  range  of  tones 
in  flowers  to-day  is  almost  measureless.  Never  be- 
fore were  seen  pinks  of  such  richness,  such  deep 
velvetlike  violets,  delicate  buffs  and  salmons, 
actual  blues,  vivid  orange  tones,  pale  beautiful 
lavenders.  Through  the  magic  of  the  hybridizers 
we  are  to-day  without  excuse  for  ugliness  in  the 
garden.  The  horticultural  palette  is  furnished 
forth  indeed.  Take  perennial  phloxes  alone:  for 
rich  violet-purple  we  have  Lord  Rayleigh;  for 
the  redder  purple,  Von  Hochberg;  for  the  laven- 
ders which  should  be  used  with  these,  E.  Dan- 
zanvilliers  and  Antonin  Mercie;  for  whites,  the 
wondrous  von  Lassburg  and  the  low  but  effec- 
tive Tapis  Blanc;  while  in  the  list  of  vivid  or 
delicate  pinks  not  one  of  these  is  unworthy  of  a 
place  in  the  finest  gardens:  T.  A.  Strohlein, 
Gruppen,  Konigin,  General  von  Heutz,  Selma, 
Bridesmaid,  General  Chanzy,  Jules  Cambon,  and 
Elizabeth  Campbell  (already  an  established  favor- 
4 


COLOR    HARMONY 

ite  in  England  and  now  offered  in  America) ;  Ellen 
Willmott,  too,  a  pale-gray  phlox,  should  be  im- 
mensely useful. 

I  have  to  confess  to  a  faint  prejudice  against 
stripes,  flakes,  or  eyes  in  phloxes,  principally  be- 
cause, as  a  rule,  the  best  effects  in  color  group- 
ings are  obtained  by  the  use  of  flowers  of  clear, 
solid  tones  —  otherwise  one  cannot  count  upon  the 
result  of  one's  planning.  With  the  eye,  an  unex- 
pected element  enters  into  our  composition. 

Among  irises  what  a  possible  range  of  color 
pictures  in  lavenders,  blues,  bronzes,  yellows, 
springs  up  to  the  mind's  eye  with  the  very  men- 
tion of  the  flower's  musical  name!  The  immense 
choice  of  species  and  varieties,  the  difference  in 
form  and  height,  and  more  notably  the  unending 
number  of  their  lovely  hues,  make  the  iris  family 
a  true  treasure-house  for  the  good  flower  gardener. 
The  first-comer  of  our  spring  iris  festival  is  the 
shy,  stiff  Iris  reticulata  of  four  inches;  the  last  of 
the  lovely  guests  is  the  great  white  English  iris 
of  four  feet;  and  those  showing  themselves  be- 
tween the  opening  and  closing  days  of  iris  time 
are  of  many  nations — German,  Japanese,  Siberian, 
English,  Dutch. 

Tulips,  so  highly  developed  in  our  day,  present 
5 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

a  wonderful  field  of  color  from  which  to  choose; 
so  does  the  dahlia  tribe.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
glaring  faults  in  color  planting  in  our  gardens  are 
not  due  to  lack  of  good  material. 

The  question  of  absolute  color  is  a  very  nice 
question  indeed,  and  reminds  one  of  the  old  prov- 
erb of  one  man's  meat  being  another  man's  poison. 
We  cannot  say  that  a  given  color  is  ugly.  Its 
beauty  or  lack  of  beauty  depends  upon  its  rela- 
tion to  other  colors.  To  announce  that  one  dis- 
likes mauve  is  not  to  prove  mauve  unbeautiful. 
Most  of  us  who  have  prejudices  against  a  certain 
color  would  be  amazed  at  the  effect  upon  our  color 
sense  of  the  offensive  hue  when  judiciously  used 
with  correlated  tones.  For  instance,  what  com- 
moner than  to  hear  this  exclamation  as  one  wan- 
ders in  an  August  garden  where  a  clump  of  tall 
phloxes  have  reverted  to  the  magenta,  despised 
of  most  of  us,  and  where  the  hostess's  shears  have 
been  spared,  to  the  spoiling  of  the  garden:  "What 
a  horrible  color  has  that  phlox  taken  on ! "  But 
take  that  same  group  of  flowering  stems  another 
year,  back  it  by  the  pale  spires  of  Physostegia 
Virginica  rosea,  see  that  the  phlox  Lord  Rayleigh 
blooms  beside  it,  that  a  good  lavender  like  Antonin 
Mercie  is  hard  by,  let  some  masses  of  rich  purple 
6 


COLOR    HARMONY 

petunia  have  their  will  below,  with  perhaps  the 
flat  panicles  of  large-flowered  white  verbena,  a  few 
spikes  of  the  gladiolus  Baron  Hulot,  and  some 
trusses  of  a  pinkish-lavender  heliotrope  judiciously 
disposed,  and  lo !  the  ugliness  of  the  magenta  phlox 
has  been  transmuted  into  a  positive  beauty  and 
become  an  active  agent  toward  the  loveliness  of 
the  whole  picture. 

What  a  lucky  thing  for  us  delvers  into  plant 
and  seed  lists  if  the  color  tests  of  railways  —  on  a 
more  elaborate  and  delicate  scale,  to  be  sure  — 
could  be  applied  to  the  eyes  of  the  writers  of  color 
descriptions  for  these  publications!  The  only 
available  guide  to  the  absolute  color  of  flowers  of 
which  I  happen  to  know  is  the  "Repertoire  de 
Couleurs,"  published  by  the  Chrysanthemum 
Society  of  France.  Of  this  there  is  soon  to  be 
published  a  pocket  edition;  and  the  American 
Gladiolus  Society  has  a  somewhat  similar  proj- 
ect under  consideration.  Here  we  have  in  the 
French  publication  a  criterion,  a  standard;  and 
if  this  were  oftener  consulted  the  gardening  world 
of  this  country  would  be  working  on  a  much 
higher  plane  than  is  the  case  to-day. 

So  much  for  the  range  of  color  in  our  flower 
gardens,  for  the  relative  and  absolute  values  of 
7 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

flower  colors;  but  what  of  the  abuse  of  these 
things?  May  I  give  an  instance?  Not  long 
since  there  came  to  my  eye  that  which  it  is  always 
my  delight  to  see,  the  landscape  architect's  plan 
of  a  fine  Italian  garden.  For  the  spring  adorn- 
ment of  this  garden  such  hyacinths  and  tulips 
were  specified  as  at  once  to  cause,  in  my  mind  at 
least,  grave  doubts  concerning  color  harmonies, 
periods  of  bloom.  Were  certain  ones  early,  would 
certain  ones  be  late?  —  as,  to  secure  a  brilliantly  gay 
effect,  two  or  three  varieties  should  surely  flower 
together.  For  my  own  pleasure,  I  worked  out 
a  substitute  set  of  bulbs  and  sent  it  to  an  au- 
thority on  color  in  spring-growing  things  in  this 
country,  who  thus  wrote  of  the  original  plan: 
"In  regard  to  the  color  combinations  upon  which 
you  asked  my  comment,  I  can  only  say  that  they 
are  a  fair  sample  of  how  little  most  folks  know 
about  bulbs.  In  the  bed  of  hyacinths,  King  of 
the  Blues  will  prove  quite  too  dark  for  the  other 
colors;  Perle  Brillante  or  Electra  would  have  been 
much  better.  In  the  two  tulip  combinations  I 
can  see  no  harmony  at  all.  Keizerkroon,  in  my 
opinion,  should  never  be  planted  with  any  other 
tulips.  Its  gaudiness  is  too  harsh  unless  it  is  seen 
by  itself.  Furthermore,  both  Rose  Luisante  and 
8 


COLOR    HARMONY 

White  Swan  will  bloom  just  enough  later  not  to  be 
right  when  the  others  are  in  their  prime." 

Now,  what  is  the  good  of  our  finest  gardens  if 
they  are  to  be  thus  misused  and  the  owners'  taste 
misdirected  in  this  fashion?  We  spend  our  money 
for  that  which  is  not  bread. 

I  have  a  new  profession  to  propose,  a  profession 
of  specialists:  it  should  be  called  that  of  the  gar- 
den colorist.  The  office  shall  be  distinct  from 
that  of  the  landscape  architect,  distinct  indeed 
from  those  whose  office  it  already  is  to  prescribe 
the  plants  for  the  garden.  The  garden  colorist 
shall  be  qualified  to  plant  beautifully,  according 
to  color,  the  best-planned  gardens  of  our  best 
designers.  It  shall  be  his  duty,  first,  to  possess  a 
true  color  instinct;  second,  to  have  had  much 
experience  in  the  growing  of  flowers,  notably  in 
the  growing  of  varieties  in  form  and  color;  third, 
so  to  make  his  planting  plans  that  there  shall  be 
successive  pictures  of  loveliness  melting  into  each 
other  with  successive  months;  and  last,  he  must 
pay,  if  possible,  a  weekly  visit  to  his  gardens,  for 
no  eye  but  his  discerning  one  will  see  in  them 
the  evil  and  the  good.  This  profession  will  doubt- 
less have  its  first  recruits  from  the  ranks  of  women; 
at  least,  according  to  Mr.  W.  C.  Egan,  the  color 
9 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

sense  is  far  oftener  the  attribute  of  women  than 
of  men.  Still,  there  is  the  art  of  painting  to  refute 
this  argument. 

Color  as  an  aid4  to  garden  design  is  a  matter 
ever  present  to  my  mind  where  a  plan  of  high 
beauty  has  been  adopted  and  already  carried 
out.  One  occasionally  sees  a  fine  garden  which, 
due  to  the  execrable  color  arrangement,  must  of 
necessity  be  more  interesting  in  winter  than  in 
summer.  Sir  William  Eden's  plea  for  the  flower- 
less  garden  comes  to  mind: 

"I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  flowers 
that  ruin  a  garden,  at  any  rate  many  gardens: 
flowers  in  a  cottage  garden,  yes,  hollyhocks 
against  a  gray  wall;  orange  lilies  against  a  white 
one;  white  lilies  against  a  mass  of  green;  aubrietia 
and  arabis  and  thrift  to  edge  your  walks.  Del- 
phiniums against  a  yew  hedge,  and  lavender  any- 
where. But  the  delight  in  color,  as  people  say, 
in  large  gardens  is  the  offensive  thing:  flowers 
combined  with  shrubs  and  trees,  the  gardens  of 
the  Riviera,  for  instance,  Cannes,  and  the  much- 
praised,  vulgar  Monte  Carlo  —  beds  of  begonias, 
cinerarias  at  the  foot  of  a  palm,  the  terrible  crim- 
son rambler  trailing  around  its  trunk.  I  have 
never  seen  a  garden  of  taste  in  France.  Go  to 
10 


COLOR    HARMONY 

Italy,  go  to  Tivoli,  and  then  you  will  see  what  I 
mean  by  the  beauty  of  a  garden  without  flowers: 
yews,  cypresses,  statues,  steps,  fountains  —  sombre, 
dignified,  restful." 

But  when  planting  is  right,  when  great  groups 
of,  say,  white  hydrangea,  when  tall  rows  of  holly- 
hocks of  harmonious  color,  when  delicate  gar- 
lands of  such  a  marvellous  rambler  as  Tausend- 
schb'n,  low  flat  plantings  of  some  fine  verbena  like 
Beauty  of  Oxford  or  the  purple  Dolores  —  when 
such  fine  materials  are  used  to  produce  an  effect 
of  balanced  beauty,  to  heighten  the  loveliness  of 
proportion  and  of  line  already  lying  before  one 
in  stone  or  brick,  in  turf  or  gravel,  in  well-devised 
trellis  or  beautifully  groomed  hedge,  what  an  emi- 
nence of  beauty  may  then  be  reached! 

The  form  and  color  of  flowers,  in  my  opinion, 
should  be  considered  as  seriously  for  the  formal 
garden  as  the  soil  about  their  roots. 

Effects  with  tall  flowers,  lilies,  delphiniums;  with 
dwarf  flowers,  hardy  candytuft,  for  instance;  with 
lacelike  flowers,  the  heucheras,  the  gypsophilas; 
with  round-trussed  flowers,  phloxes;  with  massive- 
leaved  flowers,  the  funkias  or  Crambe  cordifolia  ; 
with  slender  flowers,  gladiolus,  salpiglossis;  with 
low  spreading  flowers,  statice,  annual  phloxes; 
11 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

with  delicately  branching  flowers,  the  annual  lark- 
spurs—  what  an  endless  array  in  the  matter  of 
form  and  habit !  The  trouble  with  most  of  us  is 
that  we  try  to  get  in  all  the  flowers,  and  also  we 
often  go  so  far  as  to  insist  on  using  all  the  colors 
too  —  with  a  result  usually  terrific. 

On  the  other  hand,  according  to  a  capital  Eng- 
lish writer,  "the  present  taste  is  a  little  too  timid 
about  mixtures  and  contrasts  of  color.  Few  of 
those  who  advise  upon  the  color  arrangements  of 
flowers  seem  to  be  aware  that  nearly  all  colors  go 
well  together  in  a  garden,  if  only  they  are  thor- 
oughly mixed  up.  It  is  the  half-hearted  con- 
trasts where  only  two  or  three  colors  are  em- 
ployed, and  those  the  wrong  ones,  that  are  really 
ugly.  The  Orientals  know  more  about  color  than 
we  do,  and  in  their  coloring  they  imitate  the  au- 
dacity and  profusion  of  nature." 

Those  who  lead  us  in  these  matters  will,  I  am 
sure,  gradually  and  gently  conduct  us  to  an  aus- 
terer  taste,  a  wish  for  more  simplicity  of  effect  in 
our  gardens  —  the  sure  path,  if  the  narrow  one,  to 
beauty  in  gardening. 

The  stream  of  my  horticultural  thought  runs 
here  a  trifle  narrower,  and  I  see  the  charm  of 
gardens  of  one  color  alone  —  these,  of  course,  with 
12 


COLOR    HARMONY 

the  varying  tones  of  such  a  color,  and  with  the 
liberal  or  sparing  use  of  white  flowers.  It  is,  I 
think,  a  daughter  of  Du  Maurier  whose  English 
garden  is  one  lovely  riot,  the  summer  through,  of 
mauve,  purple,  cool  pink,  and  white.  I  can  fancy 
nothing  more  lovely  if  it  receive  the  artist's  touch. 
A  garden  of  rich  purples,  brilliant  blues  and  their 
paler  shades,  with  cream  and  white,  could  be  a 
masterpiece  in  the  right  hand. 

Such  was,  a  summer  or  two  since,  the  garden  at 
Ashridge,  Lord  Brownlow's  fine  place  in  England, 
the  following  brief  description  of  which  was  sent 
me  by  the  hand  that  planted  it:  "Purple  and 
blue  beds  at  Ashridge  (very  difficult  to  get  enough 
blue  when  tall  blue  delphiniums  are  over).  Blue 
delphinium,  blue  salvia  (August  and  September), 
purple  clematis,  single  petunia,  violas,  purple 
sweet  peas,  salpiglossis,  stocks,  blue  nemesia,  blue 
branching  annual  delphinium,  purple  perennial 
phloxes,  purple  gladiolus." 

The  past  mistress  of  the  charming  art  of  color 
combination  in  gardening  is,  without  doubt,  Miss 
Jekyll,  the  well-known  English  writer;  and  to 
the  practised  amateur,  I  commend  her  "Colour 
in  the  Flower  Garden"  as  the  last  word  in  truly 
artistic  planting,  and  full  of  valuable  suggestion 
13 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

for  one  who  has  worked  with  flowers  long  enough 
to  have  mastered  the  complications  of  his  soil 
and  climate. 

Miss  JekylPs  remarks  on  the  varying  concep- 
tions of  color  I  must  here  repeat,  in  order  to  make 
the  descriptions  below  as  well  understood  as  pos- 
sible. "I  notice,"  she  writes,  on  page  227  of 
"Wood  and  Garden,"  "in  plant  lists,  the  most 
reckless  and  indiscriminate  use  of  the  words  purple, 
violet,  mauve,  lilac,  and  lavender;  and,  as  they 
are  all  related,  I  think  they  should  be  used  with 
greater  caution.  I  should  say  that  mauve  and 
lilac  cover  the  same  ground.  The  word  mauve 
came  into  use  within  my  recollection.  It  is  French 
for  mallow,  and  the  flower  of  the  wild  plant  may 
stand  as  the  type  of  what  the  word  means.  Lav- 
ender stands  for  a  colder  or  bluer  range  of  pale 
purples,  with  an  inclination  to  gray;  it  is  a  useful 
word,  because  the  whole  color  of  the  flower  spike 
varies  so  little.  Violet  stands  for  the  dark  gar- 
den violet,  and  I  always  think  of  the  grand  color 
of  Iris  reticulata  as  an  example  of  a  rich  violet- 
purple.  But  purple  equally  stands  for  this,  and 
for  many  shades  redder." 

In  an  earlier  paragraph  the  same  writer  refers 
to  the  common  color  nomenclature  of  the  average 
14 


COLOR    HARMONY 

seed  or  bulb  list  as  "slip-slop,"  and  indeed  the 
name  is  none  too  hard  for  the  descriptive  mis- 
takes in  most  of  our  own  catalogues.  Mrs.  Sedg- 
wick  in  "The  Garden  Month  by  Month"  provides 
a  valuable  color  chart;  so  far  as  I  know,  she  is 
the  pioneer  in  this  direction  in  this  country.  Why 
should  not  books  for  beginners  in  gardening  af- 
ford suggestions  for  color  harmony  in  planting,  a 
juxtaposition  of  plants  slightly  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary routine,  orange  near  blue,  sulphur-yellow  near 
blue,  and  so  on  ?  A  well-known  book  for  the  ama- 
teur is  Miss  Shelton's  "The  Seasons  in  a  Flower 
Garden."  This  little  volume  shows  charming 
taste  in  advice  concerning  flower  groupings  for 
color.  I  look  forward  to  the  day  when  a  serious 
color  standard  for  flowers  shall  be  established  by 
the  appearance  in  America  of  such  a  publication 
as  the  "Repertoire  de  Couleurs"  sent  out  by  the 
Societe  Franchise  des  Chrysanthemistes.  To  this 
the  makers  of  catalogues  might  turn  as  infallible; 
and  on  this  those  who  plant  for  artistic  combina- 
tion of  color  might  rely. 

In  the  groupings  for  color  effect  given  below 

there  has  been  no  absolute  copying  of  any  one's 

suggestions.     To   work   out   these   plantings   my 

plan  has  always  been,  first  to  make  notes  on  the 

15 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

same  day  of  each  week  of  flowers  in  full  bloom. 
Then,  by  cutting  certain  blooms  and  holding  them 
against  others,  a  happy  contrast  or  harmony  of 
color  is  readily  seen,  and  noted  for  trial  in  the 
following  year. 

BLUE  AND   CREAM- WHITE  —  MARCH 

The  earliest  blooming  color  combination  of 
which  I  can  speak  from  experience  is  illustrated  on 
the  facing  page.  Here,  backed  by  Mahonia,  and 
blooming  in  one  season  as  early  as  late  March, 
thrives  a  most  lovely  group  of  blue  and  cream- 
white  spring  flowers.  Tulipa  Kaufmanniana,  open- 
ing full  always  in  the  sun,  spreads  its  deep  creamy 
petals,  while  below  these  tulips  a  few  hundred 
Scilla  Sibirica  show  brilliantly  blue.  To  the  right 
bloodroot  is  white  with  blossoms  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, while  behind  this  the  creamy  pointed  buds 
of  Narcissus  Orange  Phoenix  carry  along  the  tone 
of  the  cream-white  tulip.  Narcissus  Orange  Phoe- 
nix is  a  great  favorite  of  mine;  leader  of  all  the 
double  daffodils,  I  think  it,  with  the  exception  of 
Narcissus  poeticus,  var.  pknus,  the  gardenia  nar- 
cissus, with  its  true  gardenia  scent  and  full  ivory- 
white  blooms;  with  me,  however,  this  narcissus 
so  seldom  produces  a  flower  that  I  have  given 
16 


£%> 


TULIP   KAUFMANNIANA    WITH    SCILLA    SIBIRICA 


TULIPS    REVEREND    H.    EWBANK    AND    CLARA    BUTT,    BELOW 
BLOOMING    LILAC 


COLOR    HARMONY 

up  growing  it.     Where  this  does  well,  the  most 
delicious  color  combinations  should  be  possible. 

As  for  Tulipa  Kaufmanniana,  earliest  of  all 
tulips  to  bloom,  it  is  such  a  treasure  to  the  lover 
of  spring  flowers  that  the  sharp  advance  in  its 
price  made  within  the  last  two  or  three  years  by 
the  Dutch  growers  is  bad  news  indeed  for  the 
gardener.  A  tulip  of  surprising  beauty,  this,  with 
distinction  of  form,  creamy  petals,  with  a  soft 
daffodil-yellow  tone  toward  the  centre,  the  out- 
side of  the  petals  nearly  covered  with  a  very  nice 
tone  of  rich  reddish-pink.  Its  appearance  when 
closed  is  unusually  good,  and  its  color  really  ex- 
cellent with  the  blue  of  the  Scillas. 

BLUE   AND   PURPLE  —  APRIL 

A  very  daring  experiment  this  was,  but  one 
which  proved  so  interesting  in  rich  color  that  it 
will  be  always  repeated.  It  consisted  of  sheets 
of  Sdlla  Sibirica  planted  near  and  really  running 
into  thick  colonies  of  Crocus  purpureus,  var. 
grandiflorus.  The  two  strong  tones  of  color  are 
almost  those  of  certain  modern  stained  glass.  The 
brilliancy  of  April  grass  provides  a  fine  setting  for 
this  bold  planting  in  a  shrubbery  border.  The 
little  bulbs  should  be  set  very  close,  and  the 
17 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

patches  of  color,  in  the  main,  should  be  well  de- 
fined. In  fact,  I  prefer  a  large  sheet  of  each  color 
to  several  smaller  groups  with  a  resultant  spotty 
effect.  To  my  thinking,  it  is  impossible  to  im- 
agine a  finer  early  spring  effect  in  either  a  small 
or  a  large  place  than  these  two  bulbs  in  these  two 
varieties  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else. 

The  dwarf  Iris  reticulata  —  which  should  be 
better  known,  as  no  early  bulb  is  hardier,  richer 
in  color  and  in  scent  —  with  its  deep  violet-purple 
flowers,  planted  closely  in  large  masses,  with 
spreading  groups  of  Scilla  near  by,  would  produce 
an  effect  of  blue  and  purple  nearly  like  that  above 
described. 

PINK,    LAVENDER,   AND   CREAM- WHITE  —  MAY 

A  fine  effect  for  late  May,  that  has  rejoiced 
my  eye  for  some  years,  is  shown  facing  page  16. 
The  flowers  form  the  front  of  a  shrubbery  border 
composed  entirely  of  Lemoine's  lilacs  in  such  va- 
rieties as  Marie  le  Graye  (white),  Charles  X 
(deep  purplish-red),  Madame  Abel  Chatenay 
(double,  white),  President  Grevy  (double,  blue), 
Emile  Lemoine  (double,  pinkish),  and  Azurea 
(light  blue).  While  these  are  at  their  best,  droop- 
ing sprays  of  bleeding-heart  (dicentra)  show  their 
18 


COLOR    HARMONY 

rather  bluish  pink  in  groups  below,  with  irregular 
clumps  of  a  pearly  lavender  —  a  very  light-gray- 
ish lavender  —  lent  by  Iris  Germanica.  A  little 
back  of  the  irises,  their  tall  stems  being  considered, 
stand  groups  now  of  the  fine  Darwin  tulip  Clara 
Butt,  now  of  tulip  Reverend  H.  Ewbank.  The 
slightly  bluish  cast  of  Clara  Butt's  pink  binds 
the  dicentra  and  the  lavender,  lilac,  and  iris  to 
each  other,  and  the  whole  effect  is  deepened  and 
almost  focussed  by  the  strong  lavender  of  Rever- 
end H.  Ewbank  tulip,  in  whose  petals  it  is  quite 
easy  to  see  a  pinkish  tone.  The  contrast  in  form 
and  habit  of  growth  in  such  a  border  is  worth 
noticing.  The  lilacs  topping  everything  with 
their  candlelike  trusses  of  flowers;  the  dicentra, 
the  next  tallest,  horizontal  lines  against  the  lilacs' 
perpendicular,  as  well  as  a  foliage  of  extreme  deli- 
cacy, contrasting  with  the  bold  dark-green  of  the 
lilac  leaf;  the  tulips  again,  their  conventional  cups 
of  rich  color  clear-cut  against  the  taller  growth; 
and  grayish  clouds  of  iris  bloom,  with  their  spears 
of  leaves  below,  these  last  broken  here  and  there 
by  touches  of  a  loose-flung,  rather  tall  forget-me- 
not,  Myosotis  dissitiflora  —  all  this  creates  an  en- 
semble truly  satisfying  from  many  points  of  view. 
Speaking  of  tulips,  why  is  not  the  May-flower- 
19 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ing  tulip  Brimstone  more  grown?  And  what  is 
there  more  lovely  to  behold  than  masses  of  this 
pale-lemon-colored  double  tulip,  slightly  tinged 
with  pink,  with  soft  mounds  and  sprays  of  the 
earliest  forget-me-not  gently  lifting  its  sprays  of 
turquoise-blue  against  the  delicately  tinted  but 
vigorous  heads  of  this  wonderful  tulip? 

CARMINE,   LAVENDER,   CREAM-WHITE,   AND   ORANGE 
—  LATE   MAY 

On  a  slope  toward  the  north  a  few  open  spaces 
of  poor  soil  between  small  white  pines  are  covered 
by  the  trailing  stems  of  Rosa  Wichuraiana.  Up 
through  these  thorny  stems,  along  which  tiny 
points  of  green  only  are  showing,  rise  in  mid-May 
glowing  blooms  of  the  May-flowering  tulip  Cou- 
leur  Cardinal,  with  its  deep-carmine  petals  on  the 
outside  of  which  is  the  most  glorious  plumlike 
bloom  that  can  exist  in  a  flower.  The  exquisite 
true  lavender  of  the  single  hyacinth  Holbein,  a 
"drift"  of  which  starts  in  the  midst  of  the  car- 
mine-purple tulip  and  broadens  as  it  seems  to 
move  down  the  slope,  becomes  itself  merged  in  a 
large  planting  of  Narcissus  Orange  Phoenix.  This 
narcissus  with  its  soft,  creamy  petals  (both  peri- 
anth and  trumpet  interspersed  with  a  soft  orange) 
20 


COLOR    HARMONY 

does  not,  as  the  heading  of  this  paragraph  might 
suggest,  fight  with  the  color  of  the  tulip,  which  is 
far  above  it  on  the  slope  and  whose  purple  exterior 
is  beautifully  echoed  in  softer  tones  of  lavender 
by  the  hyacinth. 

CREAM- WHITE  AND   REDDISH  ORANGE  —  JULY 

In  early  July  a  wealth  of  bloom  is  in  every 
garden,  and  the  decision  in  favor  of  any  special 
combination  of  color  is  a  matter  of  some  difficulty. 
A  very  good  planting  in  a  border,  however,  is  so 
readily  obtained,  and  proves  so  effective,  that  it 
shall  be  noticed  here.  Some  dozen  or  fifteen 
large  bushes  of  the  common  elder  stand  in  an  ir- 
regular, rather  oblong  group;  below  the  cream- 
white  cluster  of  its  charming  bloom  are  seventy- 
five  to  a  hundred  glowing  cups  of  Lilium  elegans, 
one  of  the  most  common  flowers  of  our  gardens, 
and  one  of  those  rare  lilies  which  render  their 
grower  absolutely  care-free!  Eighteen  varieties 
of  this  fine  lily  appear  in  one  English  bulb  list; 
many  of  these  are  rather  lower  in  height  than  the 
one  I  grow,  which  is  L.  elegans,  var.  fulgens. 

Below  these  lilies  again,  that  the  stems  may  be 
well  hid,  clear  tones  of  orange  and  yellow  blanket 
flower  (gaillardia)  appear  later  in  the  month,  car- 
91 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

rying  on  the  duration  of  color  and  in  no  way  in- 
terfering with  the  truly  glorious  effect  produced 
by  the  elder  and  lilies.  While  the  lilies  are  tall, 
the  elder  rises  so  well  above  them  that  a  beauti- 
ful proportion  of  height  is  obtained. 

An  improvement  on  this  grouping  would  be  the 
planting  of  masses  of  L.  elegans,  var.  Wallacei, 
among  the  gaillardia  below  the  taller  lilies.  The 
nearer  view  of  the  great  mass  of  July  would  then 
be  perfect. 

BRIGHT    ROSE,    GRAY-BLUE,    PALE   LAVENDER,    AND 
WHITE  —  AUGUST 

In  the  facing  cuts  an  arrangement  of  color  for 
August  bloom  is  set  forth.  The  first  photograph 
can  give  no  adequate  idea  of  the  charming  com- 
bination of  phlox  Pantheon,  with  its  large  panicles 
of  tall  rose-pink  flowers,  against  the  cloudy  masses 
of  sea-holly  (Eryngium  amethystinum) .  While  Miss 
Jekyll  generally  makes  use  of  sea-holly  in  a 
broader  way,  that  is  as  a  partial  means  of  transi- 
tion between  different  colors  in  a  large  border,  I 
think  it  beautiful  enough  in  itself  to  use  at  nearer 
range  (and  always  with  pink  near  by)  in  a  small 
formal  garden.  Pantheon  is  a  good  phlox  against 
it,  but  Fernando  Cortez,  that  glowing  brilliant 


SEA   HOLLY   AND    PHLOX    PANTHEON 


PHLOX   AURORE   BOREALE,    SEA   HOLLY,    AND   CHRYSANTHEMUM 
MAXIMUM 


COLOR  HARMONY 

pink,  is  better;  it  is  the  color  of  Coquelicot,  but 
lacking  the  extra  touch  of  yellow  which  makes 
the  latter  too  scarlet  a  phlox  for  my  garden.  To 
the  left  of  the  sea-holly  is  Achillea  ptarmica,  and 
far  beyond  the  tall  pink  phlox  Aurore  Boreale.  In 
the  lower  cut  phlox  E.  DanzanVilliers  raises  its 
lavender  heads  above  another  mass  of  sea-holly, 
a  few  spikes  of  the  white  phlox  Fraulein  G.  von 
Lassberg  appear  to  the  left,  and  Chrysanthemum 
maximum  provides  a  brilliant  contrast  in  form 
and  tone  to  its  background  of  the  beautiful  eryn- 
gium. 

A  use  of  verbena  which  does  not  appear  in 
these  illustrations,  but  which  is  frequently  made 
with  these  groupings,  is  as  follows:  Below  phlox 
Pantheon,  or  the  Shasta  daisy  (or  Chrysanthemum 
maximum),  whichever  chances  to  be  toward  the 
front  of  the  planting,  clumps  of  that  clear  warm 
pink  verbena  Beauty  of  Oxford  complete  a  color 
scheme  in  perfect  fashion.  The  pink  of  the  ver- 
bena is  precisely  that  of  the  Pantheon  phlox,  and 
the  plants  are  allowed  to  grow  free  of  pins. 

Like  the  geranium,  the   verbena  is   a   garden 

standby  —  and,  unlike  the  geranium,  it  sows  itself. 

The  first  indulgence  in  verbenas  by  the  quarter 

or  half  hundred  is  apt  to  be  a  trifle  costly;  but 

£3 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  initial  cost  is  the  only  one,  for  if  seed-pods 
are  not  too  carefully  removed,  large  colonies  of 
little  seedlings  push  through  the  ground  the 
second  year,  and  always,  if  one  clear  hue  has  been 
used,  not  only  true  to  color  but  readily  trans- 
plantable. 


II 

COMPANION  CROPS 


II 

COMPANION   CROPS 

TT  will  be  as  well  to  say  at  the  outset  that  my 
•*•  tastes  are  as  far  as  possible  removed  from 
those  popularly  understood  to  be  Japanese.  I 
almost  never  regard  a  flower  alone.  I  can  ad- 
mire a  perfect  Frau  Karl  Druschki  rose,  a  fine 
spray  of  Countess  Spencer  sweet  pea,  but  never 
without  thinking  of  the  added  beauty  sure  to  be 
its  part  if  a  little  sea-lavender  were  placed  next 
the  sweet  pea,  or  if  more  of  the  delicious  roses 
were  together.  Wherefore  it  will  be  seen  that  my 
mind  is  bent  wholly  on  grouping  or  massing,  and 
growing  companion  crops  of  flowers  to  that  end. 
Mention  is  made  only  of  those  flower  crops  ac- 
tually in  bloom  at  the  same  time  in  the  garden 
illustrated.  From  this  garden,  of  thirty-two  beds 
separated  by  turf  walks,  and  with  two  central 
cross-walks  and  an  oblong  pool  for  watering  pur- 
poses, practically  all  yellow  flowers  have  been  elim- 
inated, and  all  scarlet  as  well.  The  early  colum- 
bine (Aquilegia  chrysanthd)  and  the  pale-yellow 
27 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

Thermopsis  Caroliniana  are  the  only  yellows  now 
permitted,  and  these  only  to  make  blues  or  purples 
finer  by  juxtaposition.  All  yellow,  orange,  and 
scarlet  flowers  are  relegated  to  the  shrubbery  bor- 
ders; therefore,  in  speaking  of  companion  crops 
in  this  garden,  it  will  be  understood  that  some 
of  the  greatest  glories  of  July,  August,  and  Sep- 
tember are  omitted. 

As  far  as  I  know,  no  one  has  ever  suggested  the 
growing  of  various  varieties  of  gladiolus  among 
the  lower  ornamental  grasses.  This,  if  practicable 
culturally,  should  give  many  delightful  effects.  A 
yellow  gladiolus,  such  as  Eldorado,  among  the 
yellow-green  grasses;  the  deep  violet,  Baron  Hulot, 
or  salmon-pinks,  among  the  bluish-green.  Stems 
of  gladiolus  must  ever  be  concealed.  This  would 
do  it  gracefully  and  well. 

The  two  companion  crops  of  spring  flowers 
shown  in  cut  are  the  early  forget-me-not  (Myo- 
sotis  dissitiflora) ,  which  presses  close  against  the 
dark-red  brick  of  the  low  post,  while  the  Heavenly 
Blue  grape  hyacinth  (Muscari  botryoides,  var.),  a 
rich  purplish-blue,  blooms  next  it.  Tulipa  retro- 
flexa  is  seen  in  the  foreground,  and  the  buds  of 
Scilla  campanulata,  var.  Excelsior,  when  the  pho- 
tograph was  taken  were  about  to  open.  After 
28 


MU8CARI    HEAVENLY   BLUE,    TULIPA    RETROFLEXA,    AND   MYO8OTI8 
ALONG   BRICK   WALK 


ARABIS   AND    TULIP 
COTTAGE   MAID 


DOUBLE     GYPSOPHILA     AND     SHASTA 
DAISY 


COMPANION    CROPS 

one  day's  sun  the  various  bulbs  and  the  forget- 
me-nots  made  a  most  ravishing  effect  with  their 
clear  tones  of  blue,  lavender,  and  lemon-yellow. 

I  never  tire  of  singing  the  praises  of  Tulipa 
retroflexa;  it  is  among  my  great  favorites  in  tulips. 
And  this  leads  to  the  mention  of  that  tulip,  to  me, 
the  best  of  all  for  color,  known  under  three  names 
—  Hobbema,  Le  Reve,  and  Sara  Bernhardt.  No 
other  tulip  has  the  wonderful  and  unique  color  of 
this.  If  you  possess  a  room  with  walls  in  deli- 
cate creamy  tones,  furnished  with  a  little  old  ma- 
hogany, and  are  happy  enough  to  be  able  on  some 
fine  May  morning  to  place  there  two  or  three 
bowls  full  of  this  tulip,  you  will  understand  my 
enthusiasm.  The  color  may  be  described  as  one 
of  those  warm  yet  faded  rose-pinks  of  old  tapestry 
or  other  antique  stuff;  a  color  to  make  an  artist's 
heart  leap  up.  This  is  far  from  the  subject,  but 
these  digressions  must  occasionally  be  excused. 

In  small  note-books  —  tiny  calendars  sent  each 
year  by  a  seed-house  to  its  customers,  and  in 
which  it  is  my  habit  to  set  down  on  each  Sunday 
the  names  of  plants  in  flower  —  I  find  the  follow- 
ing were  blooming  on  a  day  in  May :  Tulipa  retro- 
flexa,  early  forget-me-not,  Muscari  botryoides,  var. 
Heavenly  Blue;  Scilla  campanulata,  var.  Excel- 
29 


THE   WELL-CONSIDERED   GARDEN 

sior;  tulip  Rose  a  Merveille,  Campernelle  jonquil, 
Narcissus  Barri,  var.  Flora  Wilson;  Narcissus 
Poetaz,  var.  Louisa;  Tulipa  Greigi,  Iris  pumila, 
var.  cyanea  (a  lovely  variety,  the  blue  of  the  sky), 
Phlox  divaricata,  var.  Canadensis  (the  new  variety 
of  this,  Laphami,  is  both  larger  and  finer),  so 
beautiful  back  of  masses  of  Alyssum  saxatile,  or 
rock  cress,  both  single  and  double,  and  Iberis 
Gibraltarica. 

On  the  Sunday  one  week  earlier,  there  were  in 
full  bloom  last  spring,  tulips  Chrysolora,  Count  of 
Leicester  (the  best  double  in  tawny  yellows),  Cou- 
leur  Cardinal,  Thomas  Moore,  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
narcissus  Queen  of  Spain  and  Flora  Wilson,  Louisa, 
poet's  narcissus,  Iris  pumila  (the  common  purple), 
and  tulips  Vermilion  Brilliant,  Queen  of  Holland, 
Clusiana,  Greigi,  Brunhilde,  Cerise  Gris  de  Lin 
(another  of  the  faded  pinks —  in  this  case,  however, 
so  extreme  that  many  gardeners  would  reject  it), 
Gris  de  Lin,  an  enchanting  if  cold  pink;  Jaune 
a-platie,  violas  and  arabis,  a  bank  of  Munstead 
primroses  (certainly  the  apotheosis  of  the  English 
primrose,  if  so  imposing  a  word  may  be  used  for 
so  shy  a  flower).  The  arabis  appears  (facing  page 
28)  with  Campernelle  jonquils  in  the  near  part, 
the  darling  tulip  Cottage  Maid  blooming  brightly 
30 


COMPANION    CROPS 

among  the  arabis  and  making  the  loveliest  imag- 
inable spring  bouquet.  The  single  arabis  I  have 
now  forsworn  in  favor  of  the  new  double  variety, 
which  is  far  more  effective  —  like  a  tiny  white 
stock  without  the  stock's  stiffness  of  habit  —  and 
quite  as  easy  to  grow  and  maintain. 

In  the  blossomy  photograph,  facing  page  48,  are 
found  four  or  five  companion  crops  of  flowers, 
though  that  was  a  peculiar  season  in  which  this 
picture  was  made,  when  syringas  bloomed  with 
Canterbury  bells !  Here  peonies  and  Canterbury 
bells  make  up  the  bulk  of  bloom,  some  young 
syringa  bushes  showing  white  back  of  them,  and 
sweetbrier  covered  with  fragrant  pink  to  the 
right.  Sweet-williams  and  pinks  may  be  found 
in  the  foreground  with  rich  rose  pyrethrum,  the 
sweet-williams  of  a  dark  rose-red,  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  all  the  paler  pinks  near  and  beyond 
them.  I  may  say  here  that,  like  most  amateurs, 
I  have  a  favorite  color  in  flowers  —  the  pink  of 
Drummond  phlox,  Chamois  Rose,  or,  in  deeper 
tones,  of  sweet-william  Sutton's  Pink  Beauty,  or 
the  rosy-stock-flowered  larkspur.  When  I  say  that 
such  and  such  a  flower  is  of  a  good  warm  pink,  it 
is  to  the  tones  of  one  or  the  other  of  these  that  I 
would  refer. 

31 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

On  the  date  on  which  this  picture  of  peonies 
was  made  there  were  to  be  found  in  bloom  in  my 
garden  these:  larkspur,  Thermopsis  Caroliniana 
(which  I  grow  near  groups  of  tall  pale-blue  del- 
phinium, and  which  makes  a  lovely  color  effect, 
adding  lemon-colored  spikes  to  the  blue),  sweet- 
williams,  Canterbury  bells,  peonies,  Aquilegia 
chrysantha,  Achillea  ptarmica,  hardy  campanula, 
pinks  both  annual  and  hardy,  foxgloves,  roses, 
annual  gypsophila,  common  daisies.  The  latter 
are  valuable  for  masses  of  early  white.  I  cut 
them  to  the  ground  as  soon  as  bloom  is  over, 
when  their  low  leaf-clumps  are  quickly  covered 
by  overhanging  later  flowers. 

The  midsummer  flower  crops  are,  by  all  odds, 
the  greatest  in  variety  as  they  are  in  luxuriance. 
Some  idea  of  the  appearance  of  this  garden  in 
mid-July  may  be  had  in  the  top  cut  facing,  when 
the  flowers  fully  open  are  almost  all  either  blue 
or  white,  except  toward  the  centre  of  the  garden, 
where  delicate  pink  tones  prevail,  and  the  fine 
purple  hardy  phlox  Lord  Rayleigh  blooms,  giving 
richness  to  the  picture  and  forming  a  combina- 
tion of  colors,  blue  and  rich  purple,  which  is 
especially  to  my  taste. 

The  abundance  of  Gypsophila  paniculata,  var. 


GYPSOPHILA   AND   LILIES   IN  THE   GARDEN 


COMPANION    CROPS 

elegans,  will  be  noted  throughout  the  garden,  and 
just  here  may  be  recalled  that  delightful  and  sug- 
gestive article  by  Mr.  Wilhelm  Miller  in  "The 
Garden  Magazine"  for  September,  1909,  advo- 
cating the  use  of  flowers  with  delicate  foliage  and 
tiny  blossoms  as  aids  to  lightness  of  garden  ef- 
fects, not  to  mention  the  new  varieties  of  such 
flowers  mentioned  in  the  article,  Crambe  orientalis, 
Rodgersia,  and  various  unfamiliar  spireas. 

There  is  a  whiter  gypsophila;  there  is  a  grayer, 
as  well.  The  former  is  the  variety  flore  pleno,  the 
latter  the  ordinary  paniculata.  They  are  both 
tremendous  acquisitions  to  the  garden,  as  their 
cloudlike  masses  of  bloom  give  a  wonderfully 
soft  look  to  any  body  of  flowers,  besides  making 
charming  settings  for  flowers  of  larger  and  more 
distinct  form,  as  in  cut  (page  28),  where  Shasta 
daisy  Alaska  is  grown  against  the  double  gypso- 
phila. Lilium  longiflorum  is  a  companion  crop  of 
gypsophila,  and  I  am  much  given  to  planting  this 
low-growing  lily  below  and  among  the  gray  soft- 
ness of  the  other.  In  bloom  when  the  garden  was 
a  blaze  of  color  in  midsummer  were  these — or,  pos- 
sibly, it  is  fairer  to  say,  "Among  those  present": 
Delphinium,  both  the  tall  Belladonna  and  one  of 
a  lovely  blue,  Cantab  by  name,  best  of  all  lark- 
33 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

spurs;  Delphinium  Chinensis,  var.  grandiflora,  in 
palest  blues  and  whites;  quantities  of  achillea, 
valuable  but  too  aggressive  as  to  roots  to  be  alto- 
gether welcome  in  a  small  garden;  Heuchera  san- 
guinea,  var.  Rosamund;  heliotrope  of  a  deep  pur- 
ple in  the  four  central  beds  of  the  garden  nearest 
the  pool,  in  the  centre  of  each  heliotrope  bed  a 
clump  of  the  medium  tall  and  early  perennial 
phlox  Lord  Rayleigh,  warm  purple  (this  was  an 
experiment  of  my  own  which  is  most  satisfactory 
in  its  result);  baby  rambler  roses  (Annchen 
Mueller),  and  climbing  roses  (the  garden  gate  at 
the  right  is  covered  with  Lady  Gay).  The  arch 
between  upper  and  lower  gardens  has  young 
plants  of  Lady  Gay  also  started  against  its  sides. 
To  continue  with  companion  crops:  perennial 
phlox  E.  Danzanvilliers,  masses  of  palest  lav- 
ender; Physostegia  Virginica,  var.  alba;  the  lovely 
lavender-blue  Stokesia  cyanea,  Scabiosa  Japonica, 
sea-lavender  (Statice  incana,  var.  Silver  Cloud), 
stocks  in  whites  and  deep  purples,  the  annual 
phloxes  Chamois  Rose  and  Lutea  —  the  latter 
so  nice  a  tone  of  old-fashioned  buff  that  it  is 
useful  as  a  sort  of  horticultural  hyphen  —  and 
a  charming  double  warm-pink  poppy,  nameless, 
which  raises  its  fluffy  head  above  its  blue-green 
34 


COMPANION    CROPS 

leaves  from  July  till  frost,  and  brings  warmth  and 
beauty  to  the  garden. 

Time  was  when  I  preferred  to  see  the  chamo- 
mile,  or  anthemis,  spread  its  pale-yellow  masses 
below  the  blue  delphinium  spikes;  but  I  now 
prefer  whites,  or  better  still,  rich  purples  or  pale 
lavenders,  near,  a  closer  harmony  of  color. 

One  of  the  most  successful  plantings  for  bold- 
ness of  effect  is  the  one  beyond  the  low  hedge  of  the 
privet  ibota;  a  detail  is  seen  in  cut  facing  page  36. 
This  is  of  lemon  and  white  hollyhocks,  with  thick, 
irregular  groups  of  Lilium  candidum  upspringing 
before  them.  Sufficient  room  is  left  between  the 
hedge  and  the  lilies  to  cultivate  and  to  trim  the 
hedge,  which  is  but  two  feet  high.  And  when  these 
tall  pale  flowers  open  and  both  the  rusty  growth 
of  leaves  at  the  base  of  the  hollyhock  stalks,  and 
the  yellowing  leaves  of  the  lily  stems,  are  hidden  by 
the  trim  dark  hedge,  the  effect  from  the  garden 
itself  is  surprisingly  good.  Numberless  combina- 
tions of  all  these  flowers,  which  bloom  at  the 
same  time,  suggest  themselves,  an  infinite  variety. 
Three  plants  which  bloom  in  mid-July  are  the 
necessary  and  beautiful  pink  verbena,  Beauty  of 
Oxford,  and  the  snapdragons  in  the  fine  new  tones 
called  pink,  carmine-pink,  and  coral-red;  also  that 
35 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

exquisite  flower,  Clarkia  elegans,  in  the  variety 
known  as  Sutton's  double  salmon,  one  of  the  most 
graceful  and  remarkably  pretty  annuals  which 
have  ever  come  beneath  my  eye.  Love-in-the-mist 
blooms  now,  and  the  best  variety,  Miss  Jekyll,  is 
exceedingly  pretty  and  valuable. 

A  list  of  companion  crops  for  August  most  nat- 
urally begins  with  perennial  phloxes;  in  my  case, 
Pantheon,  used  very  freely;  Aurore  Boreale,  Fer- 
nando Cortez  (wonderful  brilliant  coppery  pink), 
a  very  little  Coquelicot,  used  in  conjunction  with 
sea-holly;  white  phloxes  von  Lassburg  and  Fiancee, 
zinnia  in  light  flesh  tones,  the  good  lavender-pink 
physostegia  (Virginica  rosed),  sea-holly,  stocks, 
and  dianthus  of  the  variety  Salmon  Queen. 

There  is  hardly  space  left  in  which  to  mention 
the  flower  crops  which  enrich  September  with 
color.  But  no  list  of  the  flowers  of  that  month 
should  begin  with  the  name  of  anything  less  lovely 
than  the  tall,  exquisite,  pale-blue  Salvia  patens. 
Called  a  tender  perennial,  I  have  found  it  entirely 
hardy;  and  the  sudden  blooming  of  a  pale-blue 
flower  spike  in  early  autumn  is  as  welcome  as  it 
is  surprising.  Second  to  this  I  place  the  hardy 
aster,  or  Michaelmas  daisy,  now  to  be  had  in  many 
named  varieties  and  forming,  with  the  sal  via  just 
36 


COMPANION    CROPS 

named,  a  rare  combination  of  light  colors.  My 
hardy  asters  thus  far  have  been  practically  two, 
Pulcherrima  and  Coombe  Fishacre,  two  weeks 
later;  this  gives  me  four  weeks  of  lavender  bloom 
in  September  and  October.  The  accommodating 
gladiolus,  which,  as  every  one  knows,  will  bloom 
whenever  one  plans  to  have  it,  is  a  treasure  now. 
America,  which  has  so  much  lavender  in  its  pink, 
is  exceeding  fair  in  combination  with  either  of 
these  hardy  asters;  and  when  spikes  of  the  salvia 
are  added  to  a  mass  of  these  two  flowers  of  which 
I  have  just  spoken,  you  have  one  of  the  loveliest 
imaginable  companion  crops  of  flowers. 

A  prospective  combination  not  yet  tried  but 
which  I  am  counting  upon  this  season  is  blue  lyme 
grass  (Elymus  arenarius)  with  Chamois  Rose 
Phlox  Drummondii  below  it,  and  back  of  it  gladio- 
lus William  Falconer.  The  lyme  grass  has  much 
blue  in  its  leaves,  and  so  has  the  gladiolus;  there 
should  be  excellent  harmonies  of  both  foliage  and 
flower. 

Very  lately,  long  since  the  above  was  written, 
a  color  combination  most  subtle  and  beautiful, 
a  September  picture,  has  come  to  view:  Salvia 
farinacea,  a  soft  blue-lavender,  with  clustering 
spikes  of  palest  pink  stock  near  it,  very  close  to 
37 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

it,  were  the  two  subjects  so  perfectly  suited  to 
each  other.  Let  me  commend  this  arrangement 
as  something  rather  out  of  the  common,  for  I  can 
hardly  think  this  salvia  is  often  met  with  in  our 
gardens.  And  the  use  of  a  lovely  but  unfamiliar 
flower  will  bring  with  it  a  certain  additional 
pleasure. 


Ill 

jfcjr^ 
SUCCESSION    CROPS 


'Give  me  a  tree,  a  well,  a  hive, 
And  I  can  save  my  soul  alive." 

— "Thanksgiving,"  KATHARINE  TYNAN. 


Ill 

SUCCESSION    CROPS 

EASY  enough  it  is  to  plan  successive  flower 
crops  for  different  parts  of  a  place:  but  not 
so  easy,  considering  the  limited  amount  of  nour- 
ishment in  the  soil  and  the  habit  of  growth  of 
various  flowering  plants,  to  cover  one  spot  for 
weeks  with  flowers.  An  immense  variety  of  treat- 
ment is  possible  and  much  disagreement  must  be 
beforehand  conceded.  Calculations  for  varying 
latitudes  must  be  made  with  more  than  usual 
care;  and  the  question  of  individual  taste  asserts 
itself  with  great  insistence. 

A  very  rough  and  hard  bank  of  nearly  solid 
clay  with  a  south  exposure  has  for  some  years 
been  planted  to  narcissus  Emperor,  Cynosure,  and 
one  or  two  other  rather  later  varieties.  Striking 
boldly  along  among  these,  while  in  full  bloom, 
grows  an  irregular  line,  thickening  anH  thinning 
in  places,  of  tulip  Vermilion  Brilliant,  absolutely 
described  by  its  name.  As  the  flowers  of  these 
scarlet  and  yellow  bulbs  commence  to  fade,  the 
41 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ground  below  them  begins  to  green  with  little 
leaves  of  calendulas  Orange  King  and  Sulphur 
Queen,  as  well  as  of  the  fine  double  white  poppy 
White  Swan.  These  practically  cover  the  dying 
bulb  leaves  in  a  few  weeks  and  produce  a  succes- 
sion of  charming  bloom  beginning  rather  early  in 
the  summer.  A  few  zinnias  do  well  among  them, 
the  medium  tall  varieties  grown  only  from  seed 
labelled  "Flesh-color."  For  my  purposes  this  zin- 
nia color  is  always  the  best.  It  generally  produces 
flowers  varying  from  flesh-pink  to  pale  or  faded 
yellow,  colors  which  in  all  their  range  look  so  well 
with  yellow  or  warm  pink  flowers  that  many 
unique  and  lovely  combinations  are  obtained  by 
their  free  use.  Beware  of  the  zinnia  seed  marked 
"Rose,"  and  of  all  mixtures  of  this  seed.  The 
seed  rarely  comes  true  to  color,  and  its  bad  colors 
are  so  hideously  wrong  with  most  other  flowers 
that  they  are  a  very  real  menace  to  the  beginner 
in  what  we  might  call  picture-gardening. 

Iceland  poppies,  thickly  planted  among  the  nar- 
cissi and  tulips,  would  bring  a  crop  of  charming 
silken  blooms  well  held  above  the  foliage  already 
on  that  bank,  and  coming  between  the  earlier  and 
later  flower  crops. 

The  little  walk  of  dark  brick  shown  in  the  first 
42 


BORDERS   OF   PALE   BLUE,    BLUE -PURPLE,   AND   PALE   YELLOW 


TULIP   COTTAGE  MAID   WITH   ARABI8   ALPINA 


SUCCESSION    CROPS 

illustration  is  bordered  in  very  early  spring  by 
blue  grape  hyacinths  (Muscari  botryoides) ,  fol- 
lowed closely  by  the  fine  forget-me-not  Myosotis 
dissitiflora  in  mounds  and  sprays.  Among  these 
are  quantities  of  the  cream-white  daffodil  (Narcis- 
sus cernuus) .  Alternating  with  the  plants  of  early 
forget-me-not  are  many  more  of  Sutton's  Perfec- 
tion and  Sutton's  Royal  Blue,  which  come  into 
bloom  as  the  earliest  fade;  these  grow  very  tall 
and  form  a  foreground  of  perfect  loveliness  for 
the  tall  Tulipa  retroflexa,  which  rises  irregularly 
back  of  the  small  sky-blue  flowers  below,  complet- 
ing a  combination  of  cream  color  and  light  blue 
charmingly  delicate  and  effective.  Following  the 
two  blue  and  cream-white  crops  of  flowers  border- 
ing this  walk,  dark-pink  phloxes  bloom  in  early 
August,  three  successive  periods  of  gayety  being 
thus  assured  to  the  little  pathway. 

A  continuation  of  this  walk,  running  toward 
a  wooden  gateway  in  a  trellised  screen,  may  boast 
also  of  three  successive  flower-appearances  of  dif- 
ferent kinds.  Back  of  the  brick  edging  bordering 
the  gravel  are  planted  alternating  groups  of  myo- 
sotis  Sutton's  Royal  Blue,  hardy  dianthus  Her 
Majesty,  and  early  and  late  hardy  asters,  the 
two  mentioned  in  another  chapter,  Coombe  Fish- 
43 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

acre  and  Pulcherrima.  First  to  enliven  the  bor- 
ders with  color  is  the  myosotis,  a  peculiarly  pretty 
effect  occurring  in  the  leading  up,  at  either  end  of 
the  walk,  of  the  irregular  edge-groups  of  pale  blue 
to  low  masses  of  the  old-fashioned  Harison's  Yellow 
and  Persian  Yellow  rose.  Late  forget-me-not  is 
never  lovelier  than  when  used  in  connection  with 
this  rose.  The  combination  reminds  me  of  the 
deh'cate  colors  of  the  flower-boxes  below  each  win- 
dow of  Paquin's  great  establishment  in  the  Rue 
de  la  Paix,  as  it  may  be  seen  every  May.  Fol- 
lowing the  myosotis  and  yellow  roses  come  masses 
of  the  scented  white  pinks,  while  by  this  time  the 
hardy  asters  have  developed  into  handsome  dark- 
green  groups  of  leaves  and  give  all  through  the 
summer  a  rich  green  contrasting  well  with  the 
gray  mounds  of  dianthus  foliage,  and  finally,  in 
September,  rising  suddenly  into  sprays  of  tall,  fine 
lavender  bloom. 

No  succession  crop  of  spring  and  early  summer 
that  I  have  happened  upon  seems  to  work  bet- 
ter than  that  of  tulip  Yellow  Rose  planted  in 
small  spaces  between  common  and  named  varie- 
ties of  Oriental  Poppy.  The  tulip,  in  itself  of 
gorgeous  beauty,  very  rich  yellow  and  extremely 
double,  absolutely  lacks  backbone,  and  the  first 
44 


SUCCESSION    CROPS 

heavy  shower  brings  its  widely  opened  flowers  to 
earth  to  be  bespattered  with  mud.  The  leaves 
of  the  poppy,  upright  and  hairy,  form  a  capital 
support  for  the  misbehaving  stem  of  Yellow 
Rose,  and  the  poppies,  having  thus  lent  the  tulips 
aid  in  time  of  need,  go  a  step  farther  and  cover 
their  drying  foliage  with  a  handsome  acanthus- 
like  screen  of  green  surmounted  by  the  noble 
scarlet  and  salmon  blooms  of  early  June.  This 
is  a  very  simple,  practical,  and  safe  experiment  in 
succession  crops,  and  is  heartily  commended.  Fol- 
lowing these  poppies  comes  the  bloom  of  a  few 
plants  of  campanula  Die  Fee,  and  I  am  trying  this 
year  the  experiment  of  Campanula  pyramidalis  in 
blues  and  whites  thickly  planted  among  the  pop- 
pies, for  late  summer  bloom  when  the  poppy 
leaves  shall  have  vanished.  This  is  a  large  de- 
mand to  make  upon  the  earth  in  a  small  space, 
but,  with  encouragement  by  means  of  several  top- 
dressings  of  well-rotted  manure,  I  hope  to  accom- 
plish this  crop  succession  satisfactorily.  Among 
the  yellow  columbines  (Aquilegia  chrysantha)  I 
generally  tuck  quantities  of  white  or  purple  stocks, 
those  known  as  Sutton's  Perfection.  The  aqui- 
legia  is  cut  close  to  the  ground  as  soon  as  its  seed- 
pods  take  the  place  of  flowers;  and  the  stocks  are 
45 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

then  beginning  their  long  period  of  bloom.  Can- 
terbury bells  are  usually  the  centres  of  colonies  of 
annual  asters  (my  great  favorites  are  the  single 
Aster  Sinensis,  in  chosen  colors  —  not  to  be  had  in 
every  seed-list,  by  the  way),  and  of  groups  of 
gladiolus  bulbs  so  arranged  as  to  hide  the  vacancy 
left  when  the  Canterbury  bells  must  be  lifted  from 
the  ground  after  blooming. 

In  four  places  in  the  garden  where  rather  low- 
growing  things  are  desired,  are  alternate  groups 
of  a  handsome,  dark,  velvety-red  sweet-william  — 
the  seed  of  which  was  given  me  by  Miss  Jekyll, 
who  described  this  as  the  color  of  the  sweet-wil- 
liam of  the  old  English  cottage  garden  —  and  well- 
grown  plants  of  Stokesia  cyanea.  As  soon  as  the 
fine  heads  of  sweet-william  begin  to  crisp  and  dry, 
the  beautiful  lavender-blue  flowers  of  the  Stokesia 
take  up  the  wondrous  tale,  and  a  veil  of  delicate 
blue  is  drawn  over  the  spots  which  a  few  days 
since  ran  red  with  a  riot  of  dark  loveliness. 

Among  larkspurs  I  plant  Salvia  patens,  which 
to  look  tidy  when  blooming  must  be  carefully 
staked  while  the  stems  are  pliable  and  tender. 
Second  crops  of  delphinium  bloom  seem  to  me  a 
mistake  —  I  believe  the  vitality  of  the  plant  is 
somewhat  impaired  and  the  color  of  the  flowers  is 
46 


MUNSTEAD    PRIMROSE    AND    TULIP    WHITE    SWAN    ON    SLOPE 
BELOW    POPLAR  AND   PINE 


SUCCESSION    CROPS 

seldom  as  clear  and  fine  as  in  the  first  crop.  Green 
leaves  in  plenty  should  be  left,  of  course:  the 
lower  part  of  Salvia  patens  is  not  attractive  and 
its  pale-blue  flowers  have  added  beauty  rising  from 
the  fresh  delphinium  foliage. 

The  plan  of  planting  the  everlasting  pea  (La- 
ihyrus  latifolius,  var.  The  Pearl)  among  delphin- 
iums, to  follow  their  bloom  by  clouds  of  white 
flowers,  is  recommended  by  an  English  authority. 
To  continue  the  blue  of  tall  delphinium,  the  very 
best  succession  crop  is  that  of  Delphinium  Chi- 
nense  or  grandiflorum,  the  lower  branching  one  with 
the  cut  leaf;  a  fine  hardy  perennial  in  exquisite 
shades  of  pale  and  deep  blue,  whose  flowers  are 
at  their  very  best  immediately  after  the  spikes 
of  their  blue  sisters  have  gone  into  retirement. 

The  fine  new  Dropmore  variety  of  Anchusa 
Italica  is  exceedingly  good  placed  near  the  vigor- 
ous green  spikes  of  the  leaves  of  the  white  false 
dragonhead  (Physostegia  Virginica,  var.  alba) :  when 
the  latter  is  low,  the  great  anchusa  leaves  nearly 
cover  it;  and  after  the  crop  of  brilliant  blue 
flowers  is  exhausted,  and  the  robust  plants  are 
cut  back,  the  physostegia  raises  its  tall  white 
spikes  of  bloom  a  few  weeks  later,  brightening  an 
otherwise  dull  spot. 

47 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

Platycodons,  both  blue  and  white,  are  capital 
to  dwell  among  and  succeed  Canterbury  bells; 
the  platycodons  to  be  followed  again  in  their  turn 
by  the  later-blooming  Campanula  pyramidalis. 

Will  some  kind  garden-lover  make  me  his  debtor 
by  suggesting  a  good  neighbor  and  successor  to 
the  hardy  phlox?  This  has  been  a  problem  in  a 
locality  where  frost  is  due  in  early  September,  and 
some  of  the  tenderer  things,  such  as  cosmos,  are 
really  nothing  but  a  risk.  If  one  could  raze  one's 
phloxes  to  the  ground  once  they  had  finished  their 
best  bloom,  the  case  might  be  different.  But  the 
French  growers  now  advise  (according  to  interest- 
ing cultural  instructions  for  phlox-growing  issued 
by  one  specialist)  the  retention  of  all  flower  stalks 
during  winter!  This  makes  necessary  an  im- 
mense amount  of  work  in  the  way  of  cutting,  to- 
ward early  September,  in  order  that  the  phloxes 
may  keep  some  decent  appearance  a£  shrublike 
plants  of  green. 

To  follow  the  bloom  of  7m  Germanica  (of  which 
I  find  two  varieties  planted  together,  Mrs.  Hor- 
ace Darwin  and  Gloire  de  Hillegom,  to  give  a 
charming  succession  crop  of  flowers  with  a  change 
of  hue  as  well),  I  have  already  recommended  the 
planting  of  gladiolus.  Lilium  candidum  growing 
48 


PEONIES   AND    CANTERBURY   BELLS 


DISCREET   USE   OF   RAMBLER   ROSE     LADY   GAY 


SUCCESSION    CROPS 

back  of  iris  leaves  is  also  effective,  and,  by  care- 
fully considered  planting,  gladiolus  forms  a  be- 
tween-crop  of  no  little  value. 

Of  succession  crops  to  follow  each  other  in 
places  apart,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  speak. 
This  is  an  easy  matter  to  arrange;  the  fading  of 
color  before  one  shrubbery  group  acting  as  a  signal 
to  another  place  to  brighten.  Munstead  primroses 
(cut,  page  46)  are  scarcely  out  of  bloom  when  tulip 
Cottage  Maid  and  arabis  are  in  beauty,  as  in  cut  on 
page  42,  in  an  unused  spot  under  grapes,  and  these 
are  quickly  followed  by  rambler  roses  (cut,  page  48), 
peonies,  and  Canterbury  bells  in  the  garden  proper 
(cut,  page  48).  Bordering  on  the  turf  edges  of 
a  walk  in  a  kitchen  garden  three  succession  crops 
of  flowers  have  been  obtained  by  the  use  of  these 
three  plantings.  Roses  stand  a  foot  back  from  the 
grass.  Between  them  and  the  turf  long,  irregular 
masses  of  Tulipa  Gesneriana,  var.  rosea,  bloom 
rich  rose-red  in  May.  The  roses  follow  in  June; 
and  Beauty  of  Oxford  verbena  covers  the  dying 
tulip  leaves  with  clusters  of  wonderful  pink  bloom 
which  lasts  well  into  the  autumn. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  a  white  garden 
would  be  a  simple  matter  to  arrange,  and  that, 
under  certain  very  green  and  fresh  conditions  and 
49 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

with  plenty  of  rich  shadow  to  give  its  tones  va- 
riety, it  should  not  be  monotonous.  The  procession 
of  white  flowers  is  so  remarkable,  beginning,  say, 
with  the  snowdrop,  bloodroot,  sweet  white  violet, 
and  the  arabis  in  its  single  and  double  forms,  followed 
quickly  by  Iberis  Gibraltarica  and  Phlox  subulata, 
white  violas  —  all  these  for  the  low  early  flowers 
—  and  followed  by  larger,  taller,  and  more  mas- 
sive blooms,  from  peonies  on  to  Canterbury  bells, 
thence  to  lilies,  white  hollyhocks,  gypsophilas,  Pearl 
achillea,  and  white  phloxes.  Dozens  of  flower 
names  occur  at  the  mere  thought.  It  seems  as 
though  every  flower  must  have  its  white  repre- 
sentative. Whether  an  all-white  garden  would 
be  truly  agreeable  or  no,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  do 
hold  that  sufficient  white  is  not  used  in  our  gar- 
dens —  that  a  certain  brilliancy  in  sunlight  is  lost 
by  the  absence  of  masses  of  white  flowers,  succes- 
sion crops  of  which  it  is  so  easy  to  obtain  and 
maintain.  With  the  free  use  of  white  flowers, 
there  is  sure  to  be  a  fresh  proclamation  of  beauty, 
too,  at  twilight  and  under  the  moon  —  arguments 
which  must  appeal  to  the  amateur  gardener  of 
poetic  taste. 


IV 

JOYS    AND    SORROWS    OF    A 
TRIAL    GARDEN 


"Here  is  a  daffodil, 

Six- winged  as  seraphs  are; 
They  took  her  from  a  Spanish  hill, 

Wild  as  a  wind-blown  star. 
When  she  was  born 

The  angels  came 
And  showed  her  how  her  petals  should  be  worn, 

Now  she  is  tame  — 
She  hath  a  Latin  name." 

— "A  London  Flower  Show," 

EVELYN  UNDERBILL. 


IV 

JOYS    AND    SORROWS    OF    A 
TRIAL    GARDEN 

THE  three  indispensable  adjuncts  of  a  good 
flower  garden,  when  considering  its  upkeep, 
are,  in  the  order  of  their  importance:  a  tool-house 
well  stocked,  a  good  supply  of  compost,  and  space 
for  a  trial  garden.  In  planting  for  color  effect 
the  trial  garden  is  a  necessity.  The  space  for  it 
may  be  small:  no  matter;  plant  in  it  one  of  a 
kind.  The  gardener  happy  in  the  possession  of 
the  visualizing  sense  may  take  the  one  plant  and 
in  his  or  her  imagination  readily  see  its  effect  as 
disposed  in  rows,  groups,  or  large  masses. 

My  own  trial  garden  space  is  very  small;  and 
my  idea  has  been  from  the  first  to  secure  plants 
for  it  in  multiples  of  four,  if  possible  according  to 
size.  The  formal  flower  garden  happens  to  be 
arranged  alike  in  all  four  quarters  of  its  plan,  and 
this  habit  of  balanced  planting  makes  the  trying 
out  of  eight  or  sixteen  of  a  kind  a  really  econom- 
53 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ical  thing  in  the  end.  If  the  plants  please,  and 
the  colors  form  an  agreeable  combination  with 
others  already  in  the  garden,  their  removal  in  the 
autumn  from  trial-garden  rows  to  certain  spots  in 
the  garden  proper  is  simple. 

A  portion  of  the  trial  garden  is  kept  for  seed, 
and  the  balance  for  small  collections  of  bulbs  or 
plants;  except  so  much  space  as  is  reserved  for 
the  fours,  eights,  and  sixteens  mentioned  above. 
Of  Crambe  cordifolia,  for  example,  I  should  never 
plant  more  than  four,  owing  to  its  great  size  and 
spreading  habit  of  growth,  while  of  a  dwarf  hardy 
phlox  eight  should  be  the  least.  It  occurs  to  me 
often  that  some  of  us  underestimate  the  enormous 
value  of  this  wonderful  plant.  Sure  to  bloom  as 
is  the  sun  to  rise  and  set,  varying  in  its  height  as 
few  other  flowers  do,  with  a  range  of  wonderful 
color  unsurpassed,  perhaps  unrivalled,  by  any 
hardy  flower,  the  gardener's  consolation  in  a  hot, 
dry  August,  when  it  maketh  the  wilderness  of  the 
midsummer  formal  garden  to  blossom  as  the  rose 
—  there  is  a  delightful  combination  of  certainty 
and  beauty  about  it  which  cannot  be  overpraised. 
Forbes,  the  great  Scotch  grower,  in  his  last  list 
gives  six  pages  of  fine  type  to  this  flower.  It  is 
like  a  clock  in  its  day  of  bloom,  another  great 
54 


A    TRIAL    GARDEN 

point  in  its  favor.  I  have,  for  instance,  three 
varieties  of  white  which  follow  each  other  as  the 
celebrated  sheep  over  the  wall,  each  brightening 
as  the  other  goes  to  seed.  No  lovelier  thing  could 
be  conceived  than  a  garden  of  phloxes,  a  perfect 
garden  of  hardy  phloxes;  in  fact,  an  interesting 
experiment  if  one  had  time  and  space  for  it  would 
be  a  garden  made  up  entirely  of  varieties  of  phlox; 
beginning  with  the  lovely  colors  now  obtainable 
in  the  P.  subulata  group,  next  the  fine  lavenders 
of  P.  divaricata,  then  an  interim  of  good  green 
foliage  till  Miss  Lingard  of  the  P.  decussata  sec- 
tion made  its  appearance,  to  be  followed  by  the 
full  orchestra  of  the  general  group  of  violets  and 
purples  (basses);  mauves,  lavenders,  and  pinks 
(violas,  'cellos,  and  brasses);  and  the  range  of 
whites  (flutes  and  violins).  At  the  close  of  this 
concert  of  phlox-color  the  audience  must  leave 
the  garden.  The  pity  is  that  August  is  its  last 
hour.  The  strains  of  glorious  music,  however, 
follow  one  over  the  winter  snows. 

But  this  ramble  has  carried  me  far  afield.  To 
return  to  the  trial  garden  —  heucheras  in  the  fol- 
lowing varieties  were  admitted  to  this  place  last 
fall:  brizoides,  gracillima,  Richardsoni,  splendens, 
Pluie  de  Feu,  and  Lucifer.  They  flourished  su- 
55 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

perbly,  although  their  little  roots  had  been  sub- 
jected to  the  test  of  a  two  weeks'  journey  by  sea 
and  land  from  an  English  nursery  to  Michigan. 
The  flower  spikes  of  these  hybrid  heucheras  were 
thirty-two  inches  high  by  actual  measurement ! 
Another  year,  when  well  established,  they  should 
send  up  even  longer  spikes.  Their  colors  vary 
from  very  rich  coral-red  to  pale  salmon,  but  in- 
variably on  the  right  side  of  pink  —  the  yellow 
rather  than  the  blue.  This  encourages  me  to 
think  of  them  in  connection  with  sweet-william 
Button's  Pink  Beauty  (Newport  pink).  Next 
year  I  hope  to  see  the  heucheras'  tall  delicate 
sprays  emerging  from  the  flat  lower  masses  of  the 
others'  bloom,  since  they  flower  simultaneously. 
Long  after  the  sweet-william  has  gone  to  its 
grave  upon  the  dust  heap,  however,  the  heu- 
cheras continue  to  wave  their  lacelike  pennants  of 
bright  color.  I  hardly  know  of  any  plant  which 
has  so  long  a  period  of  bloom.  The  only  heu- 
cheras familiar  to  me  before  were  the  common 
species  H.  sanguined  and  the  much-vaunted  va- 
riety Rosamunde.  While  these  are  very  beauti- 
ful, they  have  not  with  me  the  height  nor  the 
generally  robust  appearance  necessary  for  full  ef- 
fect in  mass  planting.  The  leaves  of  H.  Richard- 
56 


HEUCHERA    SANGUINEA   HYBRIDS 


RAMBLER   ROSE   LADY    GAY    OVER   GATE 


A    TRIAL    GARDEN 

soni  (which  are,  as  Miss  Jekyll  points  out,  at 
their  best  in  spring,  with  the  bronze-red  color) 
make  a  capital  ground  cover  below  certain  daffo- 
dils and  tulips,  and  contrast  well  with  foliage  of 
other  tones  which  may  neighbor  them  in  the  late 
summer.  These  heucheras  are  not  common  enough 
in  our  gardens  or  in  simple  borders.  Their  bril- 
liant appearance  joined  to  the  long  flowering 
period  makes  them  garden  plants  of  rare  quality. 
Let  me  suggest  placing  one  of  the  brighter  varie- 
ties before  a  good  group  of  white  Canterbury 
bells  with  the  same  pink  sweet-william  already 
mentioned  near  by.  By  "near  by"  I  mean  really 
close  by,  no  interfering  spaces  of  earth  to  injure 
the  effect.  I  am  unalterably  opposed  to  garden- 
ing in  the  thin,  sparse  fashion  which  some  gardeners 
affect,  and  never  let  an  inch  of  soil  appear.  Let 
the  earth  be  never  so  good  nor  so  carefully  weeded 
and  cultivated,  it  is  only  now  and  again  that  an 
edge  of  turf  should  be  seen,  "in  my  foolish  opin- 
ion," as  the  Reverend  Joseph  Jacob's  old  gardener 
is  apt  to  remark  to  his  master,  the  delightful 
writer  on  flowers. 

Sixteen  peonies  with  grand  French  names  graced 
my   trial   garden   this   year,   standing   demurely 
equidistant  from  each  other  in  a  stiff  row.     Their 
57 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

bloom  was  feeble,  small,  and  hardly  worth  noting 
for  this  first  season;  next  year  they  should  be 
subjects  for  observation.  It  was  a  disappoint- 
ment that  Baroness  Schroeder  refused  to  show  a 
single  ^flower  this  spring.  For  lo,  these  many 
years  have  I  looked  at  prices  and  longed  to  pos- 
sess this  glorious  peony;  and,  now  that  she  is 
within  my  gates,  to  find  her  refusing  to  speak  to 
me  must  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  sorrows  of  this 
trial  garden. 

But  the  daffodils!  Early  in  the  spring  those 
wonderful  varieties  suggested  by  Reverend  Joseph 
Jacob  in  the  columns  of  "The  Garden"  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  various  classes  —  those  far  ex- 
ceeded and  outshone  all  anticipation.  Mr.  Jacob's 
list  will  be  interesting  to  lovers  of  the  narcissus 
in  this  country.  I  subjoin  it: 

Yellow  Trumpets:  Emperor,  Glory  of  Leiden, 
Maximus,  Golden  Bell,  P.  R.  Barr,  Queen  of 
Spain  (Johnstoni). 

White  Trumpets:  Madame  de  Graaff. 

Bicolor  Trumpets:  Apricot,  Empress,  J.  B.  M. 
Camm,  Victoria,  Mrs.  W.  T.  Ware. 

Cups  with  Yellow  Perianths:  Albatross,  Lucifer, 
Citron,  Duchess  of  Westminster,  White  Lady, 
Ariadne,  Lulworth,  Dorothy  Wemyss,  M.  M.  de 
58 


A    TRIAL    GARDEN 

Graaff,  Minnie  Hume,  Artemis,  Waterwitch,  Crown 
Prince,  and  Flora  Wilson. 

Pheasant  Eyes:  Ornatus,  Homer,  Horace,  Cas- 
sandra, Recurvus,  Eyebright,  and  Comus. 

Doubles:  Argent,  Orange  Phoenix,  Golden  Phcenix. 

Bunch-flowered:  Elvira  (Poetaz),  Campernelle 
jonquils  (rugulosus  variety). 

Of  each  of  these  I  planted  two  a  year  ago. 
Fifty  varieties  set  some  four  inches  apart  gave 
three  good  rows  of  daffodils,  and  of  these  but 
four  or  five  were  already  familiar.  The  first  to 
really  attract  and  enthrall  me  was  Eyebright.  It 
draws  as  a  star  at  night.  Its  rarely  brilliant  color 
and  distinct  form  make  it  one  of  the  greatest 
joys  afforded  by  the  trial  garden.  Next  came 
the  wonderful  Argent,  a  fine  star-shaped  flower, 
half-double,  pale  yellow  and  cream-white.  Then, 
in  order,  Barri  conspicuus  was  a  very  fine  daffodil 
— yellow  perianth,  with  cup  of  brilliant  orange- 
scarlet.  Then  Mrs.  Walter  T.  Ware,  one  of  the 
best  of  the  lot  in  every  way.  Gloria  Mundi  is  a 
very  beautiful  flower,  yellow  perianth  with  a 
bright  cup  of  orange-scarlet.  Sir  Watkin,  a  huge 
daffodil,  and  effective,  is  entirely  yellow.  Minnie 
Hume,  a  pale  flower  full  of  charm.  Artemis,  a 
beauty,  small  but  of  compact  form.  Eyebright 
59 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  Firebrand  were  the  brightest  and  most  glow- 
ing of  the  fifty.  Elvira,  of  the  Poetaz  group,  is  a 
telling  flower  with  its  rich  cream-white  bunches 
of  bloom  and  pale  cup  of  straw-color.  This  daf- 
fodil, grown  in  masses  in  woodlands,  should  pro- 
duce a  very  marvellous  spring  picture.  I  have 
fancied,  too,  that  its  fine  flowers  above  the  low 
Iris  pumila,  var.  cyanea,  might  be  a  sight  worth 
seeing. 

These  fragmentary  notes  are  all  that  can  be 
given  here.  It  is  hard  to  choose  from  so  many 
perfect  flowers  a  few  which  seem  more  remark- 
able than  the  rest.  My  practice  was,  as  these 
daffodils  came  toward  flowering,  to  cut  one  from 
each  bulb  while  hardly  out  of  the  bud,  label  it 
with  a  bit  of  paper  high  up  on  the  stem,  and 
keep  it  before  me  in  water  for  observation  and 
comparison.  They  were  unmitigated  "joys"  — 
as  daffodils  always  are.  What  a  marvel  to  have 
a  few  garden  things  such  as  tulips,  daffodils,  and 
phlox,  subject  to  no  insect  pests,  living  through 
the  severe  winters  of  our  climate,  and  in  such  va- 
riety as  to  amaze  those  who  like  myself  are  only 
beginning  to  know  what  has  been  done  by  hy- 
bridizers! 

Among  the  joys  of  the  summer  in  the  trial 
60 


HYBRID   COLUMBINES   BELOW   BRIAR   ROSE   LADY    PENZANCE 


NARCISSUS   BARRI   FLORA   WILSON 


A    TRIAL    GARDEN 

spaces  was  Clematis  recta.  So  satisfactory  was  it 
here  that  I  count  on  using  it  freely  in  the  main 
garden.  It  grew  to  a  height  of  perhaps  two  feet, 
with  loose  clusters  of  white  bloom  much  like  those 
of  the  climbing  C.  paniculata,  held  well  above  a 
pretty  and  shrublike  plant  whose  delicately  cut 
foliage  is  of  a  remarkably  fine  tone  of  dark  bluish- 
green.  The  green  holds  its  own  well  in  hot,  dry 
weather,  and  gives  it  value  as  a  low  background 
after  its  bloom  has  gone. 

Perennial  phloxes  receive  some  attention  in 
this  trial  garden.  Of  these,  one  new  to  me,  An- 
tonin  Mercie,  shall  have  special  mention,  first  be- 
cause of  its  good  color,  a  light  lilac-lavender;  next 
because  of  its  rather  early  bloom  —  August  5  or 
thereabouts  in  43°  N.  latitude;  and  last  because 
of  its  rather  low  and  very  branching  habit.  The 
spread  of  its  good  green  leaves  and  full  flower 
trusses  makes  it  an  unusually  good  phlox  for  the 
formal  garden,  and  its  resemblance  in  color  to 
E.  Danzanvilliers,  the  taller  and  more  pearly 
lavender  phlox,  fits  it  admirably  for  use  before 
the  latter.  If  Lord  Rayleigh  were  just  a  little 
later,  what  a  delicious  combination  of  lavenders 
and  violet  could  be  arranged !  Phlox  R.  P.  Struth- 
ers,  a  brilliant  dark  pink,  redder  than  Pantheon, 
61 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

not  so  red  as  Coquelicot,  more  perhaps  on  the 
order  of  the  fine  Fernando  Cortez  than  any  phlox 
with  which  I  can  compare  it,  is  another  immense 
acquisition.  This  is  also  early,  with  a  much  larger 
truss  of  bloom  than  Fernando  Cortez.  Standing 
below  groups  of  sea-holly  (Eryngium  ameihystinum) 
great  masses  of  this  would  prove  most  telling. 

Of  many  other  experiments  and  tryings-out 
should  I  like  to  write  here:  of  Mr.  Walsh's  fine 
rambler  roses,  notably  Excelsa,  which  is  in  a  fair 
way  to  equal  the  popularity  of  Lady  Gay;  of 
some  new  larkspurs,  a  small  collection  of  colum- 
bines, and  another  of  hardy  asters.  I  will  only 
add  a  word  concerning  the  one  sorrow  of  a  trial 
garden  which  has  no  cure.  It  is  the  loss  of  what 
the  good  old  Englishman  without  whom  I  should 
be  helpless  is  pleased  to  call  "lay bells."  When 
a  "laybell"  is  gone,  then  is  the  garden  world  up- 
side down !  All  my  bearings  are  lost ;  and  I  hate 
the  anonymous  inhabitant,  the  creature  without 
identity,  who  has  the  effrontery  to  stand  up  and 
bloom  as  though  he  were  perfectly  at  home  where 
those  who  see  him  know  him  not! 


BALANCE    IN    THE    FLOWER 
GARDEN 


A  sun-dial  is  calm  time,  old  time,  beautiful  spacious  time 
in  a  garden;  it  is  slow  waltz  time, — time  that  flows  like  a 
shining  twist  of  honey,  sweet  and  slow.  A  sun-dial  prods 
nobody,  a  sun-dial  can  trance  and  forget;  it  lets  the  green 
hdurs  glide.  And  at  the  close  of  day,  when  Evening  leans 
upon  the  garden  gate,  your  sun-dial  ceases  to  suppose  it 
knows  the  hour. 

—"The  Villa  for  Coelebs,"  J.  H.  YOXALL. 


BALANCE  IN  THE  FLOWER 
GARDEN 

WHEN  the  chance  to  arrange  the  planting  of 
a  formal  garden  of  my  own  fell  into  my 
hands,  about  eight  years  ago,  I  felt  strongly  the 
need  of  advice  in  what  I  was  about  to  do.  Ad- 
vice, however,  was  not  forthcoming,  and  at  the 
outset  I  fell,  of  course,  into  the  pit  of  absurdity. 
Without  any  reason  for  so  doing,  I  decided  to 
arrange  the  planting  in  this  garden  (a  balanced  de- 
sign in  four  equal  parts  with  eight  beds  in  each 
section)  as  though  the  whole  were  a  scrap  of  per- 
ennial border  a  few  feet  wide  and  a  few  feet  long. 
The  ridiculous  idea  occurred  to  me  to  have  the 
garden  a  picture  to  be  looked  at  from  the  house 
alone.  The  matter  of  garden  design  was  to  fade 
out  of  sight  except  with  regard  to  the  few  beds 
immediately  surrounding  the  small  central  pool. 
These  were  planted  more  or  less  formally,  with 
heliotrope  in  the  four  parallelograms  nearest  the 
65 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

centre,  and  iris  and  lilies  in  four  other  spaces  near 
the  rest.  I  endeavored  to  produce  irregular  cross- 
wise banks  of  color  from  the  far  end  of  the  garden 
to  the  part  nearest  the  house  —  scarlet,  orange,  and 
yellow,  with  a  fair  sprinkling  of  hollyhocks  in  yel- 
low and  white  on  the  more  distant  edge;  before 
these,  crowds  of  white  flowers,  gray-leaved  plants 
and  blue-flowering  things;  and,  nearest  of  all  to 
the  beholder,  brighter  and  paler  pinks. 

The  result  was  nothing  but  an  ugly  muddle  — 
indescribably  so  when  one  happened  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  the  garden  itself.  For  two  or  three  years 
I  bore  with  this  unhappy  condition  of  things;  in- 
deed, nothing  but  the  fact  that  the  flowers  con- 
ducted themselves  in  remarkably  luxuriant  and 
brilliant  fashion,  due  to  the  freshness  and  richness 
of  the  soil,  could  have  saved  me  from  seeing  sooner 
the  silly  mistake  I  had  made;  when,  chancing  to 
look  down  upon  the  garden  from  an  upper  win- 
dow, the  real  state  of  things  suddenly  revealed 
itself,  and  from  that  day  I  set  about  to  plan  and 
plant  in  totally  different  fashion. 

With  Mr.  Robinson,  I  feel  against  the  wretched 

carpet-bedding  system,  while  I  quite  agree,  on  the 

other  hand,  with  the  spokesman  for  the  formalists, 

Reginald  Blomfield,  who  declared  that  there  is  no 

66 


BALANCE    IN    THE    GARDEN 

such  thing  as  the  "wild  garden,"  that  the  name 
is  a  contradiction  of  terms.  The  one  thing  I  do 
maintain  is  that  advice,  the  very  best  advice,  is 
the  prime  necessity:  for  those  who  can  afford  it, 
the  fine  landscape  architect;  for  those  who  can- 
not, the  criticism  or  counsel  of  some  friend  or  ac- 
quaintance whose  experience  has  been  wider  than 
their  own.  The  time  is  sure  to  come  when  experts 
in  the  art  of  proper  flower-grouping  alone  will  be 
in  demand. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  our  grandmothers 
were  right  when  they  preferred  to  see  a  vase  on 
each  side  of  the  clock!  With  a  given  length  of 
shelf  and  a  central  object  on  that  shelf,  one's  in- 
stinct for  equalizing  calls  for  a  second  candlestick 
or  bowl  to  balance  the  first.  My  meaning  may 
be  illustrated  by  a  recent  picture  in  "The  Cen- 
tury Magazine"  of  Mrs.  Tyson's  beautiful  garden 
at  Berwick,  Maine.  Charming  as  is  this  lovely 
garden-vista,  with  its  delightful  posts  in  the  fore- 
ground, repeating  the  lines  of  slim  poplar  in  the 
middle  distance,  it  would  have  given  me  much 
more  pleasure  could  those  heavy-headed  white  or 
pale-colored  phloxes  on  the  right  have  had  a  per- 
fect repetition  of  their  effective  masses  exactly 
opposite  —  directly  across  the  grass  walk.  These 
67 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

phloxes  cry  aloud  for  balance,  placed  as  they 
seem  to  be  in  a  distinctly  formal  setting. 

So  it  is  in  the  formal  flower  garden.  I  have 
come  to  see  quite  plainly,  through  several  years 
of  lost  time,  that  balanced  planting  throughout 
is  the  only  planting  for  a  garden  that  has  any 
design  worth  the  name.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  that  formal  garden  in  which  the  use  of 
formal  or  clipped  trees  would  be  inappropriate; 
and  these  we  must  not  fail  to  mention,  not  only 
because  of  the  fine  foil  in  color  and  rich  back- 
ground of  dark  tone  which  they  bring  into  the  gar- 
den, but  because  of  their  shadow  masses  as  well  and 
their  value  as  accents.  And  that  word  "accents" 
brings  me  to  the  consideration  of  the  first  impor- 
tant placing  of  flowers  in  a  garden  which  like  my 
own  is,  unlike  all  Gaul,  divided  into  four  parts. 

Two  cross-walks  intersect  my  garden,  causing 
four  entrances.  To  flank  each  of  these  entrances, 
it  can  be  at  once  seen,  balanced  planting  must 
prevail.  In  the  eight  beds  whose  corners  occur 
at  these  entrances,  this  planting  is  used:  large 
masses  of  Thermopsis  Caroliniana  give  an  early 
and  brightly  conspicuous  bloom.  Around  these 
the  tall  salmon-pink  phlox,  Aurore  Boreale,  much 
later;  below  this  —  filling  out  the  angle  of  the 
68 


BALANCE    IN    THE    GARDEN 

corner  to  the  very  point  —  the  blue  lyme  grass 
(Elymus  arenarius),  gladiolus  William  Falconer, 
and  lowest,  of  all,  Phlox  Drummondii,  var.  Chamois 
Rose.  None  of  these  colors  fight  with  each  other 
at  any  time,  and  the  large  group  of  tall-growing 
things  is  well  fronted  by  the  intermediate  heights 
of  the  lyme  grass  and  the  gladiolus  when  in  growth 
or  in  bloom.  The  four  far  corners  of  my  garden 
I  also  consider  more  effective  when  planted  with 
tall-growing  flowers;  in  these  the  Dropmore,  An- 
chusa  Italica,  first  shines  bluely  forth;  this  soon 
gives  place  to  the  white  physostegia,  with  phlox 
Fernando  Cortez  blooming  below  the  slim  white 
spikes  just  mentioned;  and  last,  to  light  up  the 
corners,  comes  the  mauve  Physostegia  Virginica, 
var.  rosea,  whose  bloom  here  is  far  more  profuse 
and  effective  than  that  of  its  white  sisters.  This 
grouping  gives  almost  continuous  bloom  and  very 
telling  color  from  mid- June  to  mid-September; 
the  periods  of  green,  when  they  occur,  are  short, 
and  the  vigorous-looking  plants  are  not  at  all 
objectionable  before  they  blossom.  The  effect  of 
balanced  planting  in  these  corners  I  consider  good. 
The  eye  is  carried  expectantly  from  one  angle  to 
another  and  expectation  is  fulfilled. 
In  the  centre  of  this  garden  are  four  rectangular 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

beds,  corresponding  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  rectangular  pool.  These,  as  forming  part  of 
the  centre  of  the  garden,  are  always  planted  ex- 
actly alike.  Purple  of  a  rich  bluish  cast  is  one 
of  the  colors  which  bind  instead  of  separate,  and 
purple  it  is  which  here  becomes  an  excellent  focal 
color  for  the  garden.  In  the  middle  of  each  bed 
is  a  sturdy  group  of  the  hardy  phlox  Lord  Ray- 
leigh,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  heliotrope  of  the 
darkest  purple  obtainable.  This  year,  however, 
I  expect  to  replace  the  heliotrope  with  even  bet- 
ter effect  by  a  tall  blue  ageratum,  which  I  saw  in 
one  or  two  Connecticut  gardens,  as  the  paler  color 
is  more  telling  and  quite  as  neutral  for  such  a 
position.  Speaking  of  this  ageratum,  I  may  per- 
haps digress  for  a  moment  to  mention  a  charming 
effect  I  saw  on  an  out-of-door  dining-table  last 
summer,  obtained  by  the  use  of  this  flower.  The 
color  of  the  table  was  a  pale  cool  green  and  most 
of  its  top  was  exposed;  in  the  centre  stood  a 
bowl  of  French  or  Italian  pottery,  bearing  a  care- 
less gay  decoration,  and  at  the  four  corners  smaller 
bowls.  These  were  filled,  to  quote  the  words  of 
the  knowing  lady  whose  happy  arrangement  this 
was,  "with  zinnias  which  had  yellows  and  copper- 
reds,  with  the  variety  which  resulted  from  an  order 
70 


BALANCE    IN    THE    GARDEN 

of  salmon-pinks  and  whites.  We  really  had  almost 
everything  but  salmon -pink." 

The  zinnias,  I  who  saw  them  can  affirm,  made 
a  most  brilliant  mass  of  color  not  altogether  har- 
monious; but  all  was  set  right  by  the  introduc- 
tion, sparingly  managed,  of  the  lovely  ageratum, 
Dwarf  Imperial  Blue.  The  eye  of  her  who  ar- 
ranged these  flowers  saw  that  a  balm  was  needed 
in  Gilead;  the  ageratum  certainly  brought  the 
zinnia  colors  into  harmony  as  nothing  else  could 
have  done,  and  a  charmingly  gay  and  original 
decoration  was  the  result.  What  a  suggestion 
here,  too,  for  the  planting  of  a  little  garden  of 
annuals ! 

We  are  apt  to  think  of  balance  in  the  formal 
garden  as  obtained  for  the  most  part  by  the  use 
of  accents  in  the  shape  of  formal  trees,  or  by 
some  architectural  adjunct.  I  believe  that  color 
masses  and  plant  forms  should  correspond  as  ab- 
solutely as  the  more  severe  features  of  such  a 
garden.  For  example,  in  practically  the  same 
spot  in  all  four  quarters  of  my  garden  there  are, 
for  perhaps  four  to  six  weeks,  similar  masses 
of  tall  white  hardy  phloxes,  the  blooming  period 
beginning  with  von  Lassburg  and  closing  with 
Jeanne  d'Arc,  the  white  repeated  in  the  dwarf 
71 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

phlox  Tapis  Blanc  in  four  places  nearer  the  centre 
of  the  garden. 

For  accents  in  flowers,  the  mind  flies  naturally 
to  the  use,  first,  of  the  taller  and  more  formal 
types  of  flowers.  Delphiniums  with  their  fine  up- 
rightness and  glorious  blues;  hollyhocks  where 
space  is  abundant  and  rust  doth  not  corrupt;  the 
magnificent  mulleins,  notably  Verbascum  Olympi- 
cum,  might  surely  emphasize  points  in  design;  and 
I  read  but  now  of  a  new  pink  one  of  fine  color, 
which,  though  mentioned  as  a  novelty  in  Miss 
Ellen  Willmott's  famous  garden  at  Warley,  Eng- 
land, will  be  sure  to  cross  the  water  soon  if  in- 
vited by  our  enterprising  nurserymen.  Lilies  of 
the  cup-upholding  kinds,  standard  roses,  standard 
wistarias,  standard  heliotropes  are  all  to  be  had. 
The  use  of  the  dwarf  or  pyramidal  fruit-tree  in 
the  formal  garden  is  very  beautiful  to  me,  recall- 
ing some  of  the  earliest  of  the  fine  gardens  of 
England,  and  (where  the  little  tree  is  kept  well 
trimmed)  offering  a  rarely  interesting  medium  for 
obtaining  balanced  effects. 

But  the  tall  plants  are  not  the  only  available 

means    for    producing    balanced    effects.     Lower 

masses   of   foliage   or   flowers   have   their   place. 

They   must   be   masses,   however,    unmistakable 

72 


HARDY   ASTERS   IN   SEPTEMBER 


BALANCE    IN    THE    GARDEN 

masses.  Thus,  in  the  illustration  facing  page  68, 
each  of  the  large  flower  masses  of  baby's  breath 
(Gypsophila  elegans)  —  consisting  of  the  bloom  of 
but  a  single  well-developed  plant  —  is  repeated 
in  every  instance  in  four  corresponding  positions 
in  this  garden.  There  was  too  much  gypsophila 
in  bloom  at  once  when  this  picture  was  made, 
but  because  some  was  double  the  effect  was  not  as 
monotonous  as  the  photograph  would  make  out. 
In  a  fine  garden  in  Saginaw,  Michigan,  designed 
and  planted  by  Mr.  Charles  A.  Platt,  balance  is 
preserved  and  emphasized  in  striking  fashion  by 
the  use  of  the  plantain  lily  (Funkia  Sieboldii,  or 
grandiflora) ,  with  its  shining  yellow-green  leaves. 
Masses  of  this  formal  plant  are  here  used  as  an 
effective  foreground  for  a  single  fine  specimen 
bush,  not  very  tall,  of  Japan  snowball  (Viburnum 
plicatum).  The  poker  flower  (Tritoma  Pfitzeri)  is 
also  used  in  this  garden  to  carry  the  eye  from 
point  to  corresponding  point;  and  speaking  of 
tritoma,  which  Mr.  Platt  in  this  garden  associates 
with  iris,  let  me  mention  again  that  delightful 
ageratum,  as  I  lately  saw  it,  used  below  tritoma. 
The  tritoma  must  have  been  one  of  the  newer 
varieties,  of  an  unusual  tone  of  intense  salmony- 
orange,  and  while  the  ageratum  would  seem  too 
73 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

insignificant  in  height  to  neighbor  the  tall  spike 
above  it,  the  use  of  the  lavender-blue  in  large 
masses  added  enormously  to  the  effect  of  the 
torches. 

In  the  second  illustration,  the  rather  thin-look- 
ing elms  seem  to  flank  the  garden  entrance  rather 
fortunately.  A  certain  pleasurable  sensation  is 
felt  in  the  balance  afforded  by  the  doubly  bor- 
dered walk  with  its  blue  and  lavender  Michael- 
mas daisies  or  hardy  asters.  It  is  surely  the  repe- 
tition of  the  twos  which  has  something  to  do  with 
this:  two  borders,  two  posts,  two  trees,  the  eye 
carried  twice  upward  by  higher  and  yet  higher 
objects. 


74 


VI 

COLOR    HARMONIES    IN    THE 
SPRING    GARDEN 


\ 


'O  Spring,  I  know  thee !    Seek  for  sweet  surprise 

In  the  young  children's  eyes. 
But  I  have  learnt  the  years,  and  know  the  yet 

Leaf-folded  violet. 

In  these  young  days  you  meditate  your  part; 
I  have  it  all  by  heart." 

— "In  Early  Spring,"  ALICE  METNHLL* 


VI 

COLOR    HARMONIES    IN    THE 
SPRING    GARDEN 

IN  these  words,  Spring  Flowers,  there  is  very 
music.  There  is  a  delicious  harmony  hi  all  of 
Nature's  colors,  and  particularly  in  the  colors  of 
all  native  spring  flowers,  as  they  appear  with 
each  other  in  their  own  environment.  If  any  one 
doubts  what  I  say,  let  him  look  at  such  pictures 
as  are  found  in  FlemwelTs  "Flowers  of  the  Alpine 
Valleys";  let  him  take  up  Mrs.  Allingham's 
"Happy  England";  or  let  him  in  May  wander 
in  the  nearest  woodlot  and  see  a  lovely  tapestry 
of  pale  color  woven  of  the  pink  of  spring  beauties, 
the  delicate  lavenders  of  hepatica,  and  the  faint 
yellow  of  the  dogtooth  violet  —  thousands  of  tiny 
blooms  crowding  each  other  for  space,  but  all  very 
good. 

Perhaps,  next  to  the  snowdrop,  crocus  is  the 

earliest  of  the  cultivated  bulbs  to  bloom  in  our 

wintry  region.    The  matter  of  color  mixtures  here 

comes  to  the  fore.     I  admit  this  to  be  a  question 

77 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

of  personal  taste;  but  it  is  one  on  which  discus- 
sion should  be  agreeable  and  fruitful.  It  happens 
that  I  object  to  a  mixture  of  colors  in  crocus,  or, 
for  that  matter,  in  anything.  Not  long  ago  a 
well-known  landscape  gardener,  a  woman,  re- 
marked that  a  border  of  mixed  Darwin  tulips 
was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  her  many  plant- 
ings. In  such  a  hand,  I  am  sure  this  was  so.  If 
such  planting  were  done  exactly  as  it  should  be, 
with  sufficient  boldness,  a  sure  knowledge  of  what 
was  wanted,  and  great  variety  of  colors  and  tones 
of  those  colors,  the  result  would  surely  show  a 
tapestry  again  thrown  along  the  earth  —  a  tapes- 
try grander  in  conception  and  more  glorious  in 
kind  than  the  one  woven  of  the  tiny  blossoms 
mentioned  above.  But  with  the  average  gar- 
dener a  mixture,  so  called,  is  a  thing  of  danger. 
What  more  hopeless  than  a  timid  one !  "Be  bold, 
be  bold,  but  not  too  bold"  —  Spenserian  advice 
holdsjhere. 

To  return  to  crocus.  Awhile  ago,  in  the  bor- 
ders of  this  small  Michigan  place  of  ours,  there 
was  in  one  place  a  most  lovely  carpet  of  colonies 
of  pale-lavender  crocus  Maximilian,  with  grape 
hyacinth  (Muscari  azureum)  running  in  and  out 
in  peninsulas,  bays,  and  islands.  Tall  white  crocus 
78 


COLOR    HARMONIES 

Reine  Blanche,  in  large  numbers,  was  near  by,  itg 
translucent  petals  shining  in  the  sun  beyond  its 
more  delicately  colored  neighbors. 

I  believe  I  have  before  expatiated  in  these 
pages  on  the  great  beauty  of  Crocus  purpurea, 
var.  grandiflora,  carpeting  large  spaces  of  bare 
ground  beneath  shrubbery,  principally  used  in 
connection  with  great  sheets  of  Scilla  Sibirica, 
which  blooms  so  very  little  later  than  the  crocus 
as  to  make  the  two  practically  simultaneous. 
These,  in  order  to  get  a  telling  effect,  should  be 
planted  by  the  thousands,  and  this,  I  beg  to  as- 
sure the  reader,  is  a  less  serious  financial  observa- 
tion than  it  sounds! 

Hepatica  that  year  bloomed  with  7m  reticu- 
lata.  As  an  experiment  I  arranged  the  following 
spring  some  groups  of  this  smart  little  iris,  with 
hepatica  plants  threading  their  way  among  the 
grasslike  leaves  of  the  iris,  and  near  by  a  few 
hundreds  of  Muscari  azureum.  The  cool,  delicate 
pinks  of  the  hepatica  were  in  most  lovely  accord 
with  the  rich  violet  of  the  iris,  yet  affording  a 
striking  contrast  in  form  and  a  full  octave  apart 
in  depth  and  height  of  tone.  Is  there  a  valid 
objection  to  thus  using  imported  and  native 
plants  side  by  side?  I  know  Ruskin  would  have 
79 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

hated  it,  but  the  great  mid- Victorian  man  prob- 
ably never  had  a  chance  to  see  the  thing  well 
done.  You  recall  what  he  wrote  of  English  flower 
gardens: 

"A  flower  garden  is  an  ugly  thing,  even  when 
best  managed;  it  is  an  assembly  of  unfortunate 
beings,  pampered  and  bloated  above  their  nat- 
ural size;  stewed  and  heated  into  diseased  growth; 
corrupted  by  evil  communication  into  speckled 
and  inharmonious  colors;  torn  from  the  soil  which 
they  loved,  and  of  which  they  were  the  spirit  and 
the  glory,  to  glare  away  their  term  of  tormented 
life  among  the  mixed  and  incongruous  essences 
of  each  other,  in  earth  that  they  know  not,  and 
in  air  that  is  poison  to  them." 

I  should  like  to  bring  Mr.  Ruskin  back  to  life 
again,  show  him  some  color  achievements  in  flower 
gardening  in  England  and  America  to-day,  and 
hear  him  say,  "A  new  order  reigneth." 

But  back  to  the  crocus !  Where  drifts  of  Crocus 
purpureus,  var.  grandiflorus,  were  blooming  under 
leafless  Japanese  quince,  blooming  quite  by  them- 
selves, a  fine  show  of  color  of  the  same  order  was 
had,  really  only  a  transition  from  one  key  to 
another,  by  flinging  along  the  ground,  planting 
where  they  fell,  heavy  bulbs  of  hyacinth  Lord 
80 


PUSCHKINIA   BELOW   SHRUBS 


TULIP   KAUFMANNIANA   IN   BORDER 


COLOR    HARMONIES 

Derby.  The  full  trusses  of  this  superb  flower 
made  the  most  lovely  companions  for  the  just- 
about-to-fade  crocus.  How  can  I  adequately  de- 
scribe the  color  of  Lord  Derby  !  Never,  no  never, 
in  the  words  of  one  of  the  Dutch  growers,  who 
calmly  says,  "Porcelain  blue,  back  heavenly  blue." 
May  I  venture  to  ask  the  reader  what  impression 
these  words  convey  to  him?  To  me  they  are  as 
sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals.  They  mean 
nothing.  From  my  own  observation  of  the  hya- 
cinth, I  should  say  that  its  blue,  in  the  early  stages 
of  development,  has  a  certain  iridescent  quality 
which  makes  it  uncommonly  interesting,  almost 
dazzling  when  seen  beyond  the  green  of  the  fresh 
grass  of  May;  and  in  full  bloom  it  shines  out 
with  a  half-deep  tone  of  purplish  blue.  Crocus 
purpureus,  var.  grandiflorus,  blooms  with  this  hya- 
cinth; the  two  tones  of  purple  are  distinct  from 
each  other  and  extremely  interesting  together. 

Is,  or  is  not,  Puschkinia  little  known?  How 
distinct  it  is  from  most  of  the  smaller  spring 
things,  and  how  lovely  in  itself  with  its  tiny  bluish- 
white  bells,  pencilled  with  another  deeper  tone  of 
blue!  And  so  rewarding,  coming  up  valiantly 
year  after  year,  without  encouragement  of  the 
compost  or  replanting!  A  little  colony  of  it  is 
81 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

here  shown  (page  80)  very  badly  because  rather 
too  tightly  planted.  Puschkinia  could  be  asso- 
ciated with  Iris  reticulata  most  beautifully;  or  its 
slender  bluish  bells  would  be  delightful  growing 
near  Tulip  Kaufmanniana.  The  bloom  of  all 
these  bulbous  things  may  be  quite  confidently 
expected  at  the  same  time. 

Another  illustration  shows  practically  nothing 
but  crowds  of  the  fine  white  crocus  Reine  Blanche, 
grown  as  naturally  as  possible  below  Pyrus  Ja- 
ponica.  Here  they  dwell  calmly  and  seem  to 
sleep  year  after  year,  except  for  the  time  when 
they  show  their  shining  faces  to  the  sun  of  April. 
The  most  dreaded  enemy  of  the  crocus,  to  my  mind, 
is  a  wet  snow.  The  petals,  once  soaked  and 
weighted,  never  recover  their  beautiful  texture, 
and  when,  one  fatal  April,  as  my  note-book  shows, 
our  hectic  climate  brought  in  one  hour  upon  these 
charming  but  tender  flowers  rain,  hail,  and  snow, 
the  wreckage  may  be  left  to  the  imagination  of 
the  tender-hearted. 

Nothing,  to  my  thinking,  can  exceed  for  beauty 
the  picture  made  by  the  majestic  Tulipa  Vitellina, 
with  its  beautifully  held  cups  of  palest  lemon 
color,  when  supported  by  the  lavender  trusses  of 
Phlox  divaricata  —  and  the  stems  of  that,  in  turn, 


COLOR    HARMONIES 

almost  hidden  by  the  fine  Phlox  subulata,  var. 
lilacina.  Long  reaches  of  these  three  flowers  hap- 
pily planted,  or  a  tiny  corner  against  shrubbery 
—  it  matters  not  one  whit  which  —  "and  then 
my  heart  with  pleasure  fills  !"  What  a  wonderful 
thing  to  see  below  the  glowing  buds  and  blossoms 
of  the  Japanese  quince  clusters  of  tulip  La  Mer- 
veille  or  —  but  not  and  —  tulip  Couleur  Cardinal. 
La  Merveille,  with  its  tremendously  telling  orange- 
red  hues,  puts  dash  into  the  picture;  Couleur  Car- 
dinal, sombreness,  richness.  No  one  could  think 
for  one  moment  of  allowing  these  tulips  to  appear 
near  each  other.  Crocus  and  early-flowering 
things  below  and  among  the  shrubs,  to  bloom 
when  the  quince  is  leafless;  tulips  toward  the 
grass,  to  show  when  tiny  points  of  green  and  the 
red  quince  blossoms  make  a  fiery  mist  above  them. 
The  lucky  householder  or  gardener  who  has 
sometime  placed  a  group  of  the  glorious  shrub, 
Mahonia,  on  his  ground,  may  like  a  planting 
which  has  seemed  good  to  me  against  the  shining 
dark-green  of  its  low  branches.  Narcissus  poetaz, 
var.  Elvira,  to  bloom  with  the  lavender  hyacinth 
Lord  Derby  or  Holbein;  with  the  gay  tulip  Ver- 
milion Brilliant  near  by,  and  some  groups  or  col- 
onies of  tulip  Couleur  Cardinal  associated  with 
83 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

these.  The  fine  Darwin  tulip  Fanny,  used  with 
masses  of  Phlox  divaricata  and  Phlox  subulata, 
var.  lilacina,  below  it,  is  a  marvel  of  color.  Mr. 
Hunt's  description  of  Fanny  I  give:  "Clear,  rosy 
pink,  with  white  centre  marked  blue.  Not  a 
large  flower  but  one  of  exquisite  color  and  form." 
I  have  never  yet  made  a  May  pilgrimage  to  Mont- 
clair,  but  I  know  I  should  be  a  wiser  gardener  if 
I  might,  for  Mr.  Hunt's  blooming  tulips  must  be 
worth  many  a  league's  journey. 

Nothing  I  have  ever  had  upon  our  small  place 
has  given  me  more  spring  pleasure  than  the  plant- 
ing which  I  next  describe.  A  shrub,  two  tulips, 
and  a  primula.  The  shrub  was  Spircsa  Thun- 
bergii,  with  its  delicate  white  sprays  of  flowers. 
Below  and  among  these  spireas  are  the  great  tulip 
La  Merveille,  orange-scarlet,  and  the  old  double 
Count  of  Leicester,  in  tawny-orange  shades  — 
and  before  the  tulips  lay  low  masses  of  the  Mun- 
stead  primrose.  On  this  primrose,  which  fares  so 
well  with  me,  I  have  enlarged  so  often  and  so  vol- 
ubly that  I  fear  the  reader  is  weary  of  my  praises. 
But  to  me  it  is  an  essential  of  the  spring.  With 
this  primrose,  with  the  hardy  forget-me-nots,  and 
arabis,  the  lemon-colored  alyssum,  the  lavender 
creeping  phloxes,  and  with  a  charming  low-grow- 
84 


COLOR    HARMONIES 

ing  thing  whose  name  is  Lamium  maculatum  (the 
gray-green  leaves  have  a  rather  vague  whitish 
marking  upon  them,  and  the  flowers  are  of  a 
soft  mauve  —  grow  tulip  Wouverman  back  of 
these,  I  beg !)  —  the  most  delightful  effects  may 
be  had. 

As  for  tulips,  again,  the  loveliest  of  combina- 
tions under  lilacs,  or  immediately  before  them, 
would  surely  ensue  if  groups  of  tulips  Fanny,  Carl 
Becker,  Giant,  and  Konigin  Emma  were  planted 
in  such  spots.  And  speaking  of  tulips  —  the  ones 
just  mentioned  I  got  of  the  Dutch,  the  originators 
of  the  Darwin  and  Rembrandt  tulips  and  who 
thereby  have  made  all  bulb-growers  their  eternal 
debtors.  The  photograph  of  tulips  which  accom- 
panies these  notes  shows  how  exhibition  beds  may 
be  made  beautiful  —  it  is  a  picture  of  the  Haarlem 
(Holland)  Jubilee  Show  in  the  spring  of  1910. 

In  the  illustration,  page  86,  the  blackish  group 
of  tulips  in  the  right-hand  middle  distance  is  La 
Tulipe  Noire  — "the  blackest  of  all  the  tulips.'* 
The  circular  group  in  the  centre  distance  is  Ed- 
mee,  a  bright  cherry-rose  color,  also  Darwin;  and 
at  the  extreme  left  L'Ingenue,  a  fine  white  Dar- 
win, slightly  suffused  with  pale  rose. 

Mr.  Krelage  gave  last  autumn  to  one  of  his 
85 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

English  friends  a  list  of  the  Darwin  tulips  he 
considers  the  best.  These  are  the  ones:  Clara 
Butt,  salmon-pink;  Crepuscule,  pinky  lilac;  Faust, 
deep  violet;  Giant,  deep  purplish-crimson;  La 
Candeur,  ivory-white;  La  Tristesse,  slaty  blue; 
Madame  Krelage,  rosy  pink;  Margaret,  soft  pink, 
almost  blush;  Mr.  Farncombe  Sanders,  rosy 
crimson;  Prince  of  the  Netherlands,  cerise-car- 
mine; Raphael,  purplish  violet;  and  Haarlem,  a 
giant  salmony  orange-red.  Five  of  these  I  have 
grown.  The  man  to  whom  this  list  was  given,  a 
distinguished  judge  of  flowers,  comments  on  the 
evident  partiality  of  Mr.  Krelage  for  the  rich 
deep-purples,  as  shown  by  these  choices  of  his 
own. 

Last  spring  Miss  Jekyll  wrote  of  her  pleasure 
in  some  beautiful  varieties  of  tulips,  Darwins  and 
Cottage  both,  sent  her  as  cut  blooms  by  a  well- 
known  grower.  And  I  was  so  charmed  with  her 
description  of  these,  especially  with  what  she  said 
of  the  purple  and  bronze  tones  of  some  of  them, 
that  I  cleared  out  a  lot  of  shrubbery  to  make  room, 
and  planted  last  fall  the  following  groups:  Ew- 
bank  and  Morales  together,  Faust,  Grand  Mo- 
narque,  Purple  Perfection,  and  D.  T.  Fish;  Bronze 
King,  Bronze  Queen,  Golden  Bronze,  Dom  Pedro, 
86 


CROCUS   MONT   BLANC 


DARWIN 


TULIPS   AT   THE   HAARLEM  (HOLLAND)  JUBILEE   SHOW,    1910 


COLOR    HARMONIES 

Louis  XIV;    Salmon  Prince,  Orange  King,  Pan- 
orama, Orange  Globe,  and  La  Merveille. 

I  am  not  a  collector;  but  how  readily,  save  for 
one  reason,  could  I  become  one,  in  ten  different 
directions  in  the  world  of  flowers !  Tulips  should 
be  one  of  my  choices;  the  narcissus  another;  no  one 
could  pass  by  the  iris.  The  collecting  of  tulips  is, 
I  fancy,  simple  beside,  say,  that  of  daffodils. 
The  varieties  of  the  daffodil  are  so  many,  the 
classes  not  as  yet  quite  clearly  defined;  while  the 
tulip  is  simplicity  itself,  except  when  it  comes  to 
tulip  species  —  there  the  botanist  comes  to  the 
front  and  no  unlearned  ones  need  apply.  Tulips 
are  unfailing,  certain  to  appear.  No  coaxing  is 
necessary,  nor  do  they  require  special  positions. 
They  may,  for  instance,  grow  among  peonies; 
they  are  delightful  among  grapes.  While  the 
narcissus  may  not  flourish  among  peonies,  because 
of  the  amount  of  manure  needed  by  the  latter, 
tulips  come  gloriously  forth.  The  question  was 
put  to  me  some  time  since  by  Doctor  Miller  as  to 
the  probability  of  injury  to  or  failure  of  narcissus 
when  planted  among  peonies,  on  account  of  the 
amount  of  manure  generally  used  among  such 
roots — the  statement  made  originally,  I  believe,  by 
some  English  writer.  May  I  give  here  the  opin- 
87 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ion  of  an  English  authority  on  daffodils  in  his 
own  words  ? 

"As  to  daffodils  among  peonies  —  well,  if  you 
don't  get  manure  (new)  among  their  roots,  and 
only  top-dress  with  farmyard  or  stable  manure, 
using  bonemeal  underground,  I  think  many  daf- 
fodils would  do  very  well;  but  you  should  try 
them  from  more  places  than  one  when  you  buy. 
Like  humans  and  others,  a  rich  diet  coming  on 
top  of  a  long-drawn-out  poor  one  upsets  matters." 

Crocus-collecting,  judging  from  what  Mr.  E. 
Augustus  Bowles  writes  of  it,  must  have  charms 
indeed.  I  confess  to  the  germ  of  the  fever  in  the 
shape  of  several  of  Mr.  Bowles's  delightfully  read- 
able articles  safely  put  away  in  a  letter-file.  Each 
time  I  take  these  out  to  reread  them,  I  grow  a 
little  weaker;  and  by  next  July  when  fresh  lists 
of  crocus  species  lay  their  fatal  hand  upon  me,  I 
expect  to  be  a  crocus-bed-ridden  invalid  indeed ! 


VII 

THE  CROCUS  AND  OTHER 
EARLY  BULBS 


'The  groundflame  of  the  crocus  breaks  the  mould, 
Fair  Spring  slides  hither  o'er  the  Southern  sea." 

—  TENNYSON. 


VII 

THE  CROCUS  AND  OTHER 
EARLY  BULBS 

ET  me  begin  by  presenting  these  "rumina- 
tions," as  he  calls  them,  from  the  pen  of  the 
Reverend  Joseph  Jacob,  of  England,  whose  name 
is  known  wherever  two  or  three  daffodils  or  as 
many  tulips  are  gathered  together.  _"Was  there 
ever  a  time,"  writes  he,  "when  bulbs  were  not  pop- 
ular? Probably  not.  At  all  events,  there  is  not 
much  doubt  about  it  at  the  present  time.  Every 
horticultural  firm  which  considers  itself  at  all 
'up*  in  the  world  considers  one  of  its  annual 
necessities  the  issuing  of  a  bulb-list.  Contrari- 
wise, the  reception  and  perusal  of  these  lists  are 
among  the  perennial  pleasures  of  every  one  who 
has  a  garden.  Bulbs  are  wonderfully  accommo- 
dating things.  I  have  a  tortoise  which  we  call 
Timmie,  and  for  the  last  three  months  he  has 
been  fast  asleep  under  some  nice  dry  leaves  in  the 
cellar.  Just  now,  with  a  little  careful  packing, 
he  could  very  easily  undertake  a  long  journey. 
91 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

"Bulbous  plants  are  the  'Timmies'  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  When  they  have  retired  into 
their  shells,  they  can  be  sent  about  so  readily  and 
so  safely  that  if  they  lived  to  about  ten  times 
the  age  of  Methuselah,  I  should  not  be  surprised 
to  find  that,  if  it  is  really  true  what  botanists 
tell  about  dispersion  and  propagation  being  the 
two  things  that  plants  worry  themselves  most 
about,  then  all  well-brought-up  plantlets  would 
be  taught,  just  as  we  teach  the  *  three  RV  to-day, 
how  to  take  on  a  bulbous  state  as  an  essential 
part  of  their  life  cycle." 

With  Mr.  Jacob's  whimsical  wish  I  heartily 
agree,  more  particularly  as  I  recall  the  few  choice 
aubrietias  by  post  from  Ireland,  the  glories  in 
delphinium  from  England  in  the  same  manner,  all 
of  which,  when  opened,  were  found  to  be  exhausted 
by  their  journey. 

Now,  before  rushing  toward  —  before  leaping 
to  our  main  flower,  the  crocus,  may  I  pay  a  word 
of  tribute  to  the  tribe  of  muscari,  the  grape  hya- 
cinth? While  these  small  bits  of  perfection  in 
flowers,  in  blue  flowers  —  yes,  a  true  blue  in  some 
forms  —  are  wonderful  in  color,  they  must,  in  my 
experience,  be  packed  closely  together  in  planting 
for  any  really  good  effect.  While  several  flowers 
92 


EARLY    BULBS 

come  from  each  crocus  bulb  set  in  earth,  from 
Muscari  azureum,  the  small  and  early  sky-blue, 
I  usually  have  but  two,  and  the  tiny  things 
seem  not  to  spread,  to  multiply,  as  the  crocus 
does. 

Of  the  other  grape  hyacinths,  a  delightful  color 
picture  is  seen  each  May  on  either  side  of  my 
little  brick  walk.  The  late  muscari  Heavenly 
Blue  clusters  below  the  pale-yellow  lily-like 
heads  of  Tulipa  retrojlexa,  and  below  the  grape 
hyacinth  (whose  strong  dark-blue  has  a  metallic 
quality)  quantities  of  fine  myosotis  plants  are 
blooming  at  the  same  moment. 

The  earliest  muscari  are  true  crocus  companions 
—  azureum  in  dense  companies,  with  crocus  Mont 
Blanc  (cut  facing  page  86)  —  or  with  such  a  lav- 
ender as  Madame  Mina  a  most  unusual  color 
combination  may  be  made. 

Since  the  spring  of  1912  I  have  felt  that  I 
must  take  up  my  pen  for  the  crocus,  to  introduce 
it  in  a  few  of  its  newer  and  less-known  varieties 
to  those  who  have  never  grown  those  at  all. 

The  desire  to  get  "something  for  nothing"  is 
quite  as  noticeable  among  the  guild  of  amateur 
gardeners  as  among  those  who  find  joy  in  bar- 
gain sales.  And  in  the  crocus  we  have  first  of  all 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

a  bargain.  Thousands  for  a  few  dollars,  hundreds 
for  some  cents.  Next  in  cheapness  to  seeds  they 
are;  and  have  a  habit,  when  not  bothered  by  a 
nervous  or  too  transplanting  owner,  of  multiply- 
ing in  a  fashion  comforting  to  see.  In  the  nine 
years  in  which  I  have  been  growing  the  crocus  on 
our  small  piece  of  ground,  I  cannot  now  remember 
having  lost  any  except  in  cases  where  the  growth 
of  overhanging  or  overhungry  shrubbery  has  eaten 
up  the  little  things  at  its  feet. 

One  of  my  first  plantings  before  the  bare  east 
wall  of  brick  of  a  then  new  house  was  of  the  cro- 
cus Reine  Blanche,  a  fine  white,  in  groups  now 
dense,  now  more  open,  with  hosts  of  Scilla  Sibi- 
rica  crowding  among  them,  and  that  first  glory  of 
the  tulip  family,  Kaufmanniana,  holding  outspread 
back  of  and  above  the  little  blue-and-white  multi- 
tude its  lilylike  flowers  —  flowers  which  only  open 
to  the  sun.  Tulipa  Kaufmanniana  is  costly,  I 
admit,  and  growing  more  so,  but,  as  in  the  case 
of  Darwin  and  May-flowering  tulips,  many  of 
which  are  rapidly  increasing  in  value,  delays  are 
dangerous.  Therefore,  buy  now  if  possible.  I 
must  have  often  described  it  before  —  its  general 
color  within  the  flower  a  rich  cream,  running  into 
clear  yellow  toward  the  centre  of  the  bloom;  on 
94 


EARLY    BULBS 

the  outside  of  each  petal  a  broad  band  of  dull 
reddish-rose.  To  myself  I  called  it  a  water-lily 
long  before  I  read  that  it  had  been  often  described 
as  the  water-lily  tulip.  In  warm  corners  it  has 
opened  with  me  (latitude  of  Boston)  as  early  as 
March  25,  though  its  usual  flowering  time  in  our 
climate  is  mid-April. 

Among  the  florists'  varieties  of  crocus,  the  one 
with  true  magnificence  of  form  and  color  is  Crocus 
purpureus,  var.  grandiflorus.  Magnificent  is  a 
large  adjective  to  apply  to  a  low-growing  flower; 
ordinarily  one  should  reserve  it  for  the  altheas, 
or  the  finer  gladioli,  sensational  in  their  beauty. 
But  it  is  a  fact  that  people  unaccustomed  to  the 
sight  of  so  large  and  fine  a  crocus  as  this  can 
sometimes  not  be  persuaded  that  it  is  a  crocus; 
therefore,  the  word  may  be  permitted.  And  when 
close-growing  numbers  of  this  particular  beauty 
are  near  other  close  colonies  of  Scilla  Sibirica, 
there  is  then  a  spring  effect  worth  going  far  to 
see.  Maximilian,  a  clear  light-lavender,  is  a  fa- 
vorite with  me.  Madame  Mina,  white  with  rich 
lavender  stripes  the  length  of  its  fine  petals,  is  a 
beauteous  flower;  and  Reine  Blanche,  of  which 
mention  has  just  been  made,  one  of  the  loveliest 
imaginable  whites.  Mont  Blanc,  white,  is  also 
95 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

very  fine.  In  these  whites,  and  in  Madame  Mina 
as  well,  the  rich  orange  stigma  gives  a  very  glow- 
ing effect  as  one  looks  down  into  the  crocus  cup. 
As  for  the  yellow  crocuses,  I  never  look  at  them  if 
I  can  help  it!  I  have  a  few  remnants  of  them 
from  misguided  purchases  of  years  gone  by,  but 
I  am  always  meaning  to  clear  them  out  and  al- 
ways forgetting  to  do  it  till  their  small  squat 
flowers  are  gone  and  the  track  of  the  position  of 
the  bulbs  is  lost.  This  antipathy  to  the  yellow 
florists'  crocus,  which,  let  me  add,  does  not  extend 
in  my  case  to  the  yellow  of  the  species  crocus, 
may  be  the  prejudice  of  ignorance,  for  of  varieties 
other  than  Cloth  of  Gold  and  Large  Yellow  I 
know  nothing.  In  these  the  yellow  is  the  crude 
yellow  of  the  dandelion  (a  flower  I  hate  with  all 
my  might) !  Mr.  E.  A.  Bowles,  of  Waltham 
Cross,  England,  tells  us  that  the  more  delicate 
and  subtle  tones  of  yellow  are  to  be  found  in  sev- 
eral varieties  of  crocus  species;  it  is  to  these  that 
I  plan  to  turn  my  attention  with  great  ardor 
another  season. 

Few  of  these  species  crocus  do  I  already  know 

in  my  own  borders  —  only  half  a  dozen  —  and 

as  I  believe  readers  will  rejoice  as  I  have  done 

in  some  of  Mr.  Bowles's  enthusiastic  comments 

96 


EARLY    BULBS 

on  or  descriptions  of  these  flowers,  I  offer  no  apol- 
ogy for  quoting  from  him,  as  I  mention  the  flowers 
of  which  he  knows  so  much,  through  years  of  col- 
lecting, growing,  and  study. 

Now,  in  spite  of  my  aversion  to  the  large  yel- 
low florists'  crocus,  I  do  like  Crocus  susianus, 
which  is  one  of  the  bright-yellows  before  mentioned 
(Color  chart,  Cadmium  yellow,  No.  1) .  But  Crocus 
susianus,  blooming  as  early  as  April  9,  planted 
very  thickly,  gave  in  my  border  the  interesting 
impression  of  a  large-flowering  yellow  Phlox  subu- 
lata  —  practically  no  green  leaf  visible  below  the 
masses  of  bloom.  Five  to  seven  flowers  appear 
in  small,  tight  bunches  from  one  bulb;  and  back 
of  and  among  this  flowering  mass  of  yellow  I  had 
colonies  of  the  white  crocus  Mont  Blanc.  Let 
me  commend  this  very  simple  and  unstudied  ar- 
rangement. C.  susianus  is  much  dwarfer  than 
Mont  Blanc,  therefore  have  it  mainly  to  the 
front. 

Crocus  Sieberi  I  call  a  warm  pinkish-lavender 
(Color  chart,  Violet  mauve,  No.  1).  Six  to  eight 
flowers  come  from  a  bulb,  and  the  bright-orange 
stigmata  within  give  a  glowing  centre  to  the  little 
flower.  This  is  very  small  and  low.  Mr.  Bowles 
calls  it  a  "crocus  for  every  garden"  and  adds  that 
97 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

it  "seeds  freely  and  soon  spreads  in  any  sunny 
border." 

"Crocus  Korolkowi"  to  quote  Mr.  Bowles 
again,  "from  the  far  East,  has  two  good  points 
—  it  flowers  early  and  is  of  a  peculiarly  brilliant 
form  of  yellow."  This  little  crocus  I  have  grown 
for  a  few  years  myself,  and  it  always  surprises 
me  by  appearing  practically  with  the  snowdrop. 

Crocus  biflorus,  the  "Scotch  crocus,"  is  white, 
with  pencillings  of  grayish  mauve  on  its  three 
outer  petals.  The  markings  are  exquisite  and  the 
early  blooming  of  this  crocus  marks  it  as  a  specially 
necessary  one. 

My  prime  favorite  among  all  these  species  cro- 
cus is  Crocus  Tommasinianus.  It  is  tall,  slender, 
delicate,  with  narrow,  pointed  petals,  of  a  lovely 
lavender,  slightly  bluer  than  Sieberi.  An  orange 
pistil  within  it  is  like  a  vivid  star.  It  has  great 
height  of  stem,  and  tapering  form  of  flower.  It 
is  the  one  which  most  delights  me  as  a  novice  in 
crocus-collecting;  and  last  spring,  in  a  limited 
space  where  the  ground  runs  up  into  a  rather 
steepish  slope  for  a  few  feet,  which  slope  is  cov- 
ered by  a  thick  group  of  the  little  tree  known  as 
the  garland  thorn,  there  beneath  the  small  tree 
stems  I  hope  to  see  next  spring  hundreds  of  little 


EARLY    BULBS 

candles,  lavender  candles  of  Crocus  Tommasini- 
anus  running  up  the  tiny  hillside,  and  racing  along 
beside  them  a  company  of  Galanthus  Elwesii,  their 
companions  in  time  of  bloom.  "I  have  found," 
writes  Mr.  Bowles,  "C.  Tommasinianus  so  far  to 
prove  the  most  satisfactory  of  the  wild  species 
for  spreading  and  holding  its  own  when  planted 
in  grass." 

Several  beautiful  new  seedling  crocuses  have 
come  within  a  few  years  from  Holland  —  May 
and  Dorothea  —  the  latter  a  "soft,  pale  lavender- 
mauve,"  May  "a  beautiful  white  of  fine  form." 
These  two  I  have;  not,  however,  Kathleen  Par- 
low,  said  to  be  an  extra-fine  white,  with  wonder- 
ful orange  anthers,  nor  Distinction,  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  pink  color  in  crocus. 

The  beauty  of  tulip  Kaufmanniana  was  never, 
I  fancy,  better  set  forth  in  a  photograph  than  in 
that  which  is  shown  on  page  98.  To  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  Bowles  himself  I  owe  this  picture  of 
perfect  spring  loveliness,  and  to  the  kindness  of 
the  distinguished  Scottish  amateur  Mr.  S.  Arnott 
the  picture  of  the  blue  grape  hyacinth,  Hyacinthus 
lineatus  azureus.  This  flowered  in  Mr.  Arnott's 
garden  in  February,  1912,  and  is,  I  believe,  a 
rare  variety. 

99 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

To  my  eyes  it  is  so  charming  a  picture  of  the 
type  that  its  inclusion  here  will  surely  give  pleasure 
to  those  to  whom  these  "small  and  early"  things 
are  objects  of  interest. 


100 


VIII 

COLOR  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  DARWIN 
TULIPS  AND  OTHER  SPRING-FLOWER- 
ING BULBS 


'Along  the  lawns  the  tulip  lamps  are  lit.** 

—  ROSAMUND  MABRIOTT  WATSON. 


VIII 

COLOR  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  DARWIN 
TULIPS  AND  OTHER  SPRING-FLOWER- 
ING BULBS 

I  BELIEVE  I  shall  always  remember  May, 
1913,  as  the  Darwinian  May.  As  the  mention 
of  this  adjective  is  doubtless  music- to  the  ear  of 
the  scientist,  so  its  sound  is  equally  delectable  to 
the  possessor  and  lover  of  the  Darwin  tulips.  In 
a  bit  of  writing  appearing  some  time  ago  in  this 
journal,  I  set  down  a  list  of  Darwins  arranged 
for  color  combination,  taken  from  a  fine  English 
source.  These  I  tried  for  the  first  time  this  year; 
and  I  assure  the  reader  when  I  saw  them  I  fell 
down  and  worshipped.  A  pageant  of  color,  a 
marvellous  procession  of  flowery  grandeur  —  no 
words  are  mine  in  which  to  tell  of  my  sensations 
on  seeing  this  beauty  for  the  first  time;  and  the 
sensations  were  not  mine  alone.  They  were 
shared  by  all  those  who  saw  them,  among  them 
some  sophisticated  eyes,  eyes  which  might  not 
show  delight  without  good  cause. 
103 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

The  color  arrangement  proved  not  so  good  as 
I  had  hoped.  And,  thanks  to  an  ingenious  guest, 
we  rearranged  for  next  year  in  this  fashion:  One 
tulip  of  each  variety  was  cut  and  labelled  with  a 
slip  of  paper.  These  cut  tulips  were  then  placed 
in  the  open  spaces  of  the  rattan  or  cane  seat  of 
a  Chinese  chair,  the  large  flowers  resting  against 
the  back  and  sides  of  the  chair.  The  round  open- 
ings in  the  woven  cane  exactly  admitted  the  stiff 
stems  of  the  Darwins;  the  background  of  basket- 
looking  stuff  was  most  becoming  to  the  gay 
flowers,  and  at  our  leisure,  seated  in  comfort  be- 
fore our  tulip  galaxy,  we  arranged  and  rearranged 
till  the  following  plan  evolved  itself  —  a  plan  of 
which  I  append  a  rather  feebly  drawn  chart  —  a 
plan,  however,  which  I  recommend  with  my  whole 
heart,  a  Darwinian  theory  less  abstruse  if  not  more 
certain  in  its  outcome  than  that  of  him  in  whose 
honor  these  noble  spring  flowers  are  named. 

Another  probably  successful  arrangement  of 
spring  flowers  suggests  itself.  Why  should  not 
the  tall  lemon-colored  blooms  of  Tulipa  Vitellina 
show  back  of  rather  close  groupings  of  Scilla  cam- 
panulata's  lavender  bells,  while  the  tender  yellow 
of  Alyssum  saxatile,  var.  sulphureum,  creates  a 
charming  foreground  ?  The  three  flowers  bloomed 
104 


TULIP   VITELLINA,    PHLOX   DIVARICATA 


TULIP  GESNERIANA   ELEGANS  LUTEA   PALLIDA   ABOVE   PHLOX 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

with  me  this  year  at  the  same  time,  and  I  cannot 
but  advise  a  trial  planting  of  them  together  — 
say  a  dozen  of  the  tulips,  fifty  scillas,  and  six  or 
seven  roots  of  the  beautiful  hardy  alyssum,  and 
you  have  a  picture  which  a  true  "garden  soul" 
will  feel  beneath  the  ground  in  winter.  This  could 
be  done  in  a  spot  apart,  a  bit  of  ground  sacred  to 
adventures  in  flowers. 

And  while  we  are  on  adventures  in  flowers, 
may  I  impart  a  few  impressions  of  some  tulips 
seen  this  spring  for  the  first  time  ?  Really  revela- 
tions —  some  of  them  unspeakably  beautiful. 
Coming,  for  instance,  unexpectedly  upon  Tulipa 
viridiflora  was  like  coming  upon  a  specially  beau- 
tiful green-and-white  trillium  in  a  wood.  This 
tulip  has  that  precious  look  of  not  having  been 
evolved.  Yet  it  is  a  May-flowering  or  cottage 
tulip.  What  pleasure  in  a  few  bulbs  of  this 
unique  flower,  in  its  aspect  of  untouchedness ! 
It  cannot  be  possible,  one  thinks,  that  the  deli- 
cate bands  of  green  up  and  down  its  palest  yel- 
low-painted petals  were  not  set  there  by  the  skil- 
ful eye  and  brush  of  perhaps  the  Japanese ! 

Tulip  The  Fawn,  a  Darwin  this,  was  almost  un- 
believable in  its  beauty.  No  description  of  it  in 
print  satisfies  me.  May  I  here  give  my  own? 
105 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

Pale  amber  to  cream-color  outside,  suffused  with 
soft  pinkish  lavender,  the  whole  effect  that  of  a 
tea-rose.  Why  not  give  it  a  subtitle  —  the  tea-rose 
tulip  ?  And  why  not  grow  it  with  that  deep,  rich 
purple  Darwin  Faust?  The  contrast  between 
these  two  is  tremendously  striking,  yet  there  is  a 
certain  harmony  of  tone  which  allows  of  their 
dwelling  together  not  only  in  peace  but  in  beauty. 

Gudin,  a  tall  tulip  of  a  pale-mauve  hue,  look- 
ing its  best  near  a  group  of  the  stately  Innocence, 
was  another  of  the  wonders  of  the  spring.  Or- 
pheus was  a  charming  flower  turning  to  warm  rose 
in  its  last  days;  Emerald  Gem,  oddly  named  when 
its  richest  of  salmon  blooms  are  considered,  with 
Orange  Globe  should  form  a  combination  of  bril- 
liant color  unsurpassed;  and  in  Dom  Pedro  we 
have  a  Breeder  tulip,  a  flower  of  wonderful  ma- 
hogany tones  which  I  should  ever  choose  to  see 
associated  with  Coridion,  lovely  "clear  yellow 
with  stripe  of  lilac  through  centre  of  petal." 

About  June  3  comes  Ixiolirion  macrantha,  like 
a  small  lavender  lily,  with  delicate  tubular  flowers, 
as  many  as  a  dozen  up  and  down  the  graceful 
waving  stem.  The  leafage  of  this  flower  is  scanty; 
what  there  is,  is  of  a  grayish-green  which  makes 
the  flower  a  fit  companion  for  the  dusty  miller 
106 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

(Senecio  cineraria).  The  ixiolirion  is  one  of  the 
bravest  of  bulbs,  coming  triumphantly  through 
the  bitter  frosts  of  last  winter.  Ixiolirion  pallasi 
is  named  as  a  good  one,  and  this  I  hope  to  try. 
The  lasting  quality  of  ixiolirion  in  water  is  one 
of  its  recommendations;  and  because  it  is  so  very 
perfect  when  cut,  if  used  with  sprays  of  Deutzia 
Lemoineii  —  for  daytime  use  on  the  table,  that 
is,  for  I  have  yet  to  find  the  blue  that  can  prop- 
erly be  used  under  artificial  light  —  I  hope  to  let 
a  quantity  of  these  beautiful  waving  things  blow 
near  and  before  the  low  bushes  of  the  deutzia 
next  spring.  These  will  follow  the  tiny  Italian 
Tulipa  clusiana,  whose  slender  beauty  grows 
dearer  every  year.  Clusiana  is  neighbored  by 
Puschkinia  and  the  two  are  preceded  by  some 
species  of  crocus  —  the  Scotch,  I  think,  var.  C. 
biflorus  pusillus. 

So  we  achieve  an  uncommon  spring  planting, 
delicate  and  lovely  for  weeks  from  the  end  of 
April  to  the  first  of  June,  always  interesting 
whether  the  small  flowers  are  coming  or  going  — 
and  if  planted  with  judgment  and  discrimination 
as  to  natural-looking  arrangement,  regard  to 
height  and  color,  we  may  without  fear  of  disap- 
pointment think  in  December  of  the  rare  joys  in 
107 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

store  for  us  in  that  spot  when  it  shall  have  been 
touched  by  the  suns  of  spring. 

A  charming  happening  has  just  taken  place  in 
the  borders.  The  bush  honeysuckles  of  Michigan 
were  never  more  gloriously  covered  with  their  veils 
of  white  and  rose  than  this  spring.  It  may  have 
been  the  gradually  warming  season,  the  uninter- 
rupted progress  from  leaf -bud  to  blossom;  in  any 
case,  the  tale  is  the  same  all  about  us  —  the  loni- 
ceras  have  been  remarkably  fine.  Below  a  tower- 
ing group  of  Lonicera,  var.  bella  albida,  whose 
flowers  in  early  June  are  just  passing,  crowds  of 
the  swaying  long-spurred  hybrid  aquilegias  bloom 
and  blow.  Most  of  us  now  know  the  unusual  deli- 
cacy and  range  of  color  in  these  charming  flowers 
—  faint  pinks,  yellows,  blues,  and  lavenders  — 
all  pale  and  poised  as  they  are. 

But  oh !  to  catch  beyond,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  honeysuckle  boughs,  as  I  did  but  now,  the 
sight  of  masses  of  blooming  pink  scillas,  Scilla 
campanulata,  var.  rosea,  at  precisely  the  moment 
and  in  precisely  the  place  where  its  modest  beauty 
was  most  perfectly  displayed  —  to  have  this  as  a 
surprise,  not  a  special  plan  —  here  was  a  pleasure 
of  a  quality  all  too  seldom  felt  and  known.  Noth- 
ing could  carry  on  and  repeat  the  tones  of  the  pink 
108 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

and  lavender  aquilegias  as  does  this  loveliest  of 
late  scillas.  In  appearance  more  like  a  tall  lily- 
of-the-valley  than  any  other  flower  I  can  call  to 
mind,  in  tone  so  cool  a  pink  that  it  is  perfect  in 
combination  with  the  blue,  lavender,  or  pink  col- 
umbines. It  is  enchanting  as  their  neighbor  and 
far  more  interesting  thus  used  than  in  the  more 
commonplace  proximity  to  its  cousin  or  sister, 
the  lavender  Scilla  campanulata,  var.  excelsior, 
blooming  at  the  same  time.  To  me  it  would  be 
dull  to  see  sheets  of  these  two  spring  flowers  near 
each  other  or  intermingling.  Dull,  I  mean,  com- 
pared with  such  a  possibility  as  the  combination 
I  have  tried  to  describe  and  which  was  simply 
one  of  those  heavenly  accidents  befalling  all  too 
rarely  the  ardent  gardener. 

On  this  June  day  the  buds  in  my  garden  are 
almost  as  enchanting  as  the  open  flowers.  Things 
in  bud  bring,  in  the  heat  of  a  June  noontide,  the 
recollection  of  the  loveliest  days  of  the  year  — 
those  days  of  May  when  all  is  suggested,  nothing 
yet  fulfilled.  To-day  I  have  been  looking  at 
something  one  of  these  photographs  feebly  tries 
to  show  —  tall  spikes  of  pale-pink  Canterbury 
bells,  the  flowers  unusually  large,  standing  against 
a  softly  rounding  background  of  gypsophila  in 
109 


THE   WELL-CONSIDERED   GARDEN 

bud;  to  the  left  of  the  campanulas,  leaves  of  Iris 
pallida  Dalmatica,  so  tall  that  their  presence  is 
immediately  felt;  a  little  before,  but  still  to  the 
left  of  the  pink  spikes  and  the  iris,  perhaps  a 
dozen  tall  silvery  velvet  stems  of  Stachys  lanata, 
whose  tiny  flowers  give  but  a  hint  of  their  pale 
lavender  as  yet,  and  are  lost  in  the  whiteness  of 
the  young  leaflets,  and  —  and  this  is  the  thing 
which  really  creates  the  picture  —  three  or  four 
spreading  branches,  a  foot  from  the  ground  and 
directly  below  the  campanulas,  of  Statice  incana 
Silver  Cloud,  tiny  points  of  white  showing  that 
the  whole  dense  spray  will  soon  be  full  of  flowers. 
Below  and  among  the  campanulas  (which  I 
keep  in  bloom  a  very  long  time  by  a  careful  daily 
taking  off  of  every  shrivelling  bloom)  stand  sal- 
mon-pink balsams,  these  to  replace  with  their  two- 
foot  masses  of  flowers  the  campanulas  when  the 
latter's  day  is  over  and  to  rise  above  the  gray- 
white  leaves  of  the  stachys  when  its  blooming 
time  is  also  past.  This  stachys  is  a  lovely  ad- 
junct to  the  garden.  The  texture  of  its  leaves  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  every  one  who  touches 
them.  Most  people  would  call  stachys  "woolly," 
but  I  do  not  like  this  word  —  (is  it  because  I  live 
in  the  West  ?)  —  and  why  apply  an  unpoetic 
110 


PINK   CANTERBURY   BELLS,    STACHYS   LANATA 


..< 


By  courtety  of  Frederick  A.  Stoke,  Company 
BELLIS   PERENNI8   AND   NARCISSUS   POETICUS 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

word  to  any  one  of  the  lovely  inhabitants  of  OUT 
gardens  ? 

It  came  about  that  a  space  before  the  bush 
honeysuckles  —  the  pink  flowering  variety,  Loni- 
cera  Tatarica,  var.  rosea  —  in  a  border,  needed  fill- 
ing with  lower  shrubs.  The  piece  of  ground  to 
be  furnished  was  perhaps  fifteen  feet  long  by  three 
wide,  though  irregular  in  both  width  and  outline. 
Last  autumn  Rosa  nitida  had  been  there  set  out, 
planted  about  three  feet  apart.  Bare  ground  for 
this  year  and  next  was  sure  to  spoil  the  look  of 
things  while  these  roses  were  yet  young,  and  a 
covering  for  it  was  thus  managed.  Canterbury- 
bell  plants  were  distributed  in  small  groups  among 
the  roses,  especially  toward  the  back  of  the  border; 
and  English  irises,  Rossini  and  Mr.  Veen,  were 
tucked  in  in  longish  colonies  before  and  among 
the  campanulas.  In  ordinary  seasons  these  irises 
might  not  have  bloomed  with  the  campanulas, 
but  this  year  it  was  Monte  Cristo-like  —  the 
flower  and  the  hour!  —  with  a  resultant  superb 
effect  of  color.  Mr.  Veen,  a  true  violet  iris,  Ros- 
sini, a  purplish-blue,  were  good  together  to  me,  who 
differ  from  Miss  Jekyll  in  possessing  a  penchant 
for  blue  combined  with  purple  or  with  lavender. 

To  compare  a  bloom  of  one  of  these  irises  with 
111 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

a  spray  of  the  Dropmore  anchusa  is  to  get  an  ex- 
tremely  vivid  and  interesting  idea  of  the  effect 
of  colors  upon  each  other.  Taken  alone,  Iris 
xiphioides,  var.  Mr.  Veen,  is  a  blue  without  very 
much  purple  in  its  tone;  beside  the  anchusa  all 
the  blue  vanishes  —  the  iris  is  a  distinct  purple; 
place  it  beside  Rossini,  it  becomes  blue  again;  and 
grow  masses  of  Rossini  below  the  anchusa,  es- 
pecially the  variety  Opal,  and  there  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  juxtapositions  possible  in  flowers 
—  so  far  as  I  know  an  original  combination  of 
color  and  one  to  charm  an  artist,  I  believe.  An- 
chusa of  a  year's  standing,  a  three-foot  anchusa, 
might  be  best  to  use  in  this  way.  The  two-foot 
iris  would  prove  a  good  companion. 

There  follows,  soon  after  the  gray-and-pink  com- 
bination in  my  garden  of  which  I  spoke  a  few 
paragraphs  back,  the  combination  of  pink  Cam- 
panula medium  and  Stachys  lanata,  a  time  when 
one  of  the  loveliest  of  all  double  poppies  lights  up 
the  little  place  with  color.  For  this  poppy  —  an 
annual  —  there  is  no  registered  name.  It  is  dou- 
ble, extremely  full,  perhaps  three  feet  in  height,  and 
of  a  delicious  rosy-pink,  exactly  the  pink  of  the 
best  mallows,  or  of  the  enchanting  half -open  rose- 
buds of  the  ever-lovely  rambler  Lady  Gay.  To 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS 

see  three  or  four  of  these  poppies  in  full  bloom 
among  the  white  mist  of  gypsophila,  either  single 
or  double,  the  oat-green  of  the  poppy  leaves 
below,  is  to  see  something  more  delicately  beauti- 
ful than  often  occurs  in  gardens.  Many  packets 
of  the  seed  of  my  poppy  are  always  in  readiness, 
as  I  have  a  superabundance  of  the  same;  and  if 
ten  people  read  these  words,  and  if,  peradven- 
ture,  there  be  ten  gardeners  with  vision  to  see 
through  the  veil  of  these  sentences  the  rose-pink 
beauty  of  this  flower,  let  them  ask  for  a  bit  of 
this  seed,  for  it  is  theirs  for  the  asking ! 

The  love  of  flowers  brings  surely  with  it  the 
love  of  all  the  green  world.  For  love  of  flowers 
every  blooming  square  in  cottage  gardens  seen 
from  the  flying  windows  of  the  train  has  its  true 
and  touching  message  for  the  traveller;  every 
bush  and  tree  in  nearer  field  and  farther  wood 
becomes  an  object  of  delight  and  stirs  delightful 
thought.  When  I  see  a  rhubarb  plant  in  a  small 
rural  garden,  I  respect  the  man,  or  more  generally 
the  woman,  who  placed  it  there.  If  my  eye  lights 
upon  the  carefully  tended  peony  held  up  by  a  bar- 
rel hoop,  the  round  group  of  an  old  dicentra,  the 
fine  upstanding  single  plant  of  iris,  at  once  I  ex- 
perience the  warmest  feeling  of  friendliness  for 
113 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

that  householder,  and  wish  to  know  and  talk  with 
them  about  their  flowers.  For  at  the  bottom 
there  is  a  bond  which  breaks  down  every  other 
difference  between  us.  We  are  "Garden  Souls." 


114 


IX 

NOTES    ON    SPRING    FLOWERS 


'April  appeared,  the  green  earth's  impulse  came 
Pushing  the  singing  sap  until  each  bud 
Trembled  with  delicate  life  as  soft  as  flame, 
Filled  with  the  mighty  heart-beat  as  with  blood." 


IX 
NOTES    ON    SPRING    FLOWERS 

AST  ever-astonishing  thing  to  me  in  gardening  is 
the  overlapping  of  the  times  of  bloom  in 
flowers.  As  I  walk  about  in  May  I  am  sure  to 
see  some  inhabitant  of  the  borders  up  and  doing, 
earlier  than  I  think  he  should  be.  One  is  ab- 
sorbed in  what  is  already  open;  the  budding  of 
coming  flowers  goes  unnoticed  and  their  little  soft, 
colorful  cries  for  attention  come  as  a  surprise. 

Under  an  ancient  thorn,  known  to  Professor 
Sargent  and  a  few  others  as  Cratcegus  punctata  — 
a  thorn  which  stands  against  old  apple-trees,  and 
which,  as  soon  as  the  petals  of  apple-blossoms  have 
fallen  and  disappeared,  becomes  a  wreath  of  white 
against  the  apple-leaves  —  under  this  blooming 
thorn  there  stands  in  a  bold  group  the  fine  late 
tulip,  Flava.  This  tulip  has  a  way  of  fading  in 
curious  and  beautiful  fashion.  In  its  first  stage 
it  is  one  of  the  grandest  and  most  imposing  of 
early  flowers;  its  bloom  is  held  high  in  air;  its 
stem  is  absolutely  erect;  its  color  a  soft  straw- 
117 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

yellow;  its  leaves  very  low,  large,  and  of  a  fine 
bluish-green;  the  blooms  open  wide,  their  four 
petals  at  the  top  of  the  stalk,  like  lilies  held  erect, 
and  the  inside  of  each  petal  seems  to  take  on  a 
certain  pallor  toward  the  centre,  leaving  an  edge 
of  deeper  tone.  The  effect  is  indescribably  beau- 
tiful in  its  way  —  a  tulip  swan-song,  thought  I,  as 
I  gazed. 

A  fine  tulip  new  to  me  last  spring  was  Nau- 
ticas.  Here  the  color  within  the  petals  is  Vin  de 
Bordeaux  No.  1,  shading  toward  the  upper  edges 
to  Rose  lilace  No.  2.*  The  inner  basal  spots  of 
Nauticas  are  of  Indigo  grisatre  No.  1,  very  strik- 
ing in  effect;  and  the  leaves  of  this  tall  tulip  were 
of  so  rarely  good  a  green  that  even  their  color  was 
recorded.  It  proved  to  be  a  trifle  darker  than 
Vert  bouteille  No.  4.  If  any  reader  wonders  at 
my  enthusiasm  for  this  tulip,  a  flower  incompara- 
ble as  it  seems  to  me,  let  him  place  next  each  other 
the  color  plates  here  mentioned,  imagine  a  finely 
rising  stem  and  large  broad  leaves,  of  the  richest 
of  greens,  crowned  by  a  rose-purple  flower  of  per- 
fect form.  He  will  wonder  no  more  that  the  tulip 
is  thus  commended. 

*  Color  references  apply  either  to  the  French  color  chart  "  Repertoire  de 
Couleurs,"  or  to  "Color  Standards  and  Color  Nomenclature,"  by  Dr. 
Robert  Ridgway. 

118 


SPRING    FLOWERS 

Of  Zomerschoon  the  rare,  the  beautiful,  I  own 
but  a  dozen  bulbs.  A  detailed  description  from 
the  color  chart  is  necessary,  as  this  wonder  among 
tulips  has  many  colors.  The  upper  outside  of 
inner  petals  shows  Rouge  d'Andrinople  No.  1,  but 
a  trifle  lighter  than  the  shade  in  the  plate.  There 
is  remarkable  life  in  this  color  as  it  appears  in 
the  tulip.  Flamed  and  feathered  with  a  true 
cream-white,  with  a  slightly  bluish  sheen  on  the 
centres  of  the  outer  petals,  the  flower  is  of  inde- 
scribable beauty.  There  is  not  one  to  equal  it 
for  charm,  for  luscious  combination  of  salmon 
and  cream.  It  is  never  likely  to  become  plentiful, 
it  is  such  a  slow  one  to  increase. 

Although  we  hear  rumors  of  a  possible  short- 
age for  next  season  in  tulips  in  violet,  lavender, 
and  bronze  tones,  it  is  quite  out  of  the  question 
in  these  notes  to  pass  by  one  of  these  beauties. 
Mauve  Clair,  a  Darwin  variety  of  unusual  quality, 
is  one  of  the  best.  The  general  tone  of  this  tulip 
is  Violet  de  Parme  No.  1,  while  the  flame  or  mark- 
ing of  the  outer  petals  is  of  Violet  d'aconit  No.  1. 
Tulip  Bouton  d'Or,  whose  yellow  as  seen  in  the 
French  chart  is  Jaime  cadmium  No.  1,  has  a  per- 
fectly unvarying  tone  throughout  the  flower. 
Thus  I  found  several  of  these  tulips;  yet  again, 
119 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

with  other  blooms  of  Bouton  d'Or,  Jaune  chrome 
moyen  No.  1,  petals  edged  with  No.  3  of  the  same 
color,  seemed  a  more  perfect  description.  I  give 
the  two  for  accuracy's  sake.  The  black  anthers 
of  Bouton  d'Or  add  appreciably  to  its  interest. 

A  tulip  of  far  paler  yellow  than  Bouton  d'Or 
is  Moonlight,  another  cottage  tulip,  so  elegant, 
so  distinguished,  as  to  relegate  Bouton  d'Or  at 
once  to  a  sort  of  tulip  bourgeoisie.  Moonlight  is 
beautifully  named,  with  its  pale  tones  of  yellow 
and  charmingly  proportioned  flower.  The  gen- 
eral tone  of  Moonlight  in  the  chart  is  Jaune  citron 
No.  1  or  Jaune  primavere  No.  1 ;  within  its  petals 
Jaune  soufre  No.  4  prevails. 

While  among  the  yellow  tulips,  Sprengeri,  the 
latest  of  all  tulips  to  bloom,  must  not  be  over- 
looked. Tulipa  Sprengeri,  to  be  sure,  is  not  yel- 
low; it  is  an  orange-scarlet  and  thereby  related 
to  the  yellows  (Orange  de  Mars  No.  2,  edges  of 
inner  petals  Orange  rougeatre  No.  1).  The  out- 
side of  each  outer  petal  is  flamed  through  the 
centre  with  Rouge  cuivre.  This  tulip  I  have 
growing  among  close-packed  roots  of  a  pearl-gray 
German  iris,  name  unknown.  The  two  come  into 
flower  simultaneously;  the  tulip  is  quite  as  tall 
as  the  iris,  and  the  two  flowers  are  strikingly 
120 


SPRING    FLOWERS 

good  together.  Sprengeri  grows  taller  with  me 
than  any  other  tulip,  Louis  XIV  alone  excepted. 
It  is  a  persistent  grower,  too,  appearing  year 
after  year  as  do  almost  no  others  except  Tulipa 
Gesneriana,  var.  rosea,  that  gay  and  resolute  little 
bloom  always  so  enchanting  above  forget-me- 
nots. 

Near  Philadelphia  last  spring  a  marvellously 
lovely  combination  of  tulips  and  iris  was  to  be 
seen.  A  long,  narrow  bed  had  been  made  in  the 
centre  of  a  similarly  long  and  narrow  piece  of 
sward.  This  straight  line  was  a  glowing  band  of 
German  iris  of  the  richest  purple-blue,  and  of  a 
brilliant  yellow  tulip  set  in  tall  and  ordered 
groups  alternating  in  effective  fashion  with  the 
iris.  Of  the  tulips  there  seemed  to  be  fifteen  or 
twenty  in  a  group,  and  the  variety,  I  thought,  was 
Mrs.  Moon.  The  name  of  the  iris  is  wanting; 
but  it  was  the  counterpart  of  one  of  my  own 
which  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  a  farmer's  wife, 
and  whose  colors,  according  to  the  chart,  are  Bleu 
d'aniline  No.  4  in  the  standards  and  Violet  de 
violette  in  the  falls. 

A  further  suggestion  for  iris-and-tulip  grouping 
(this  from  an  English  source)  is  a  bold  use  of  the 
deep  purple-blue  iris  thinly  interspersed  with  the 
121 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

lavender  Darwin  tulip  Reverend  H.  Ewbank.  In 
my  own  part  of  the  country  it  is  rarely  that  the 
Darwin  or  May-flowering  tulip  overlaps  in  time 
of  bloom  upon  the  German  iris,  but  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Philadelphia  these  plants  may  be  expected 
to  give  flowers  together. 

A  group  of  Darwins  in  brilliant  cherry-rose 
tones  we  may  notice  next.  These  gay  occupants 
of  the  spring  border  hold  less  charm  for  me  than 
some  of  their  less  flaunting  fellows,  the  reason 
being  the  difficulty  of  combining  them  well  with 
tulips  of  other  colors.  True,  they  may  serve  as 
a  climax  where  first  lavender,  then  deep-violet 
tulips  are  used  in  successive  groupings.  But  with 
white  tulips,  dead-white,  they  are  not  agreeable 
to  the  eye;  with  primrose  and  yellow  they  do  not 
particularly  agree;  with  mauve  and  bronze  not 
at  all.  The  two  which  shall  be  singled  out  for 
special  mention  are  both  Darwins,  Professor  Fran- 
cis Darwin  and  Edmee.  The  tones  of  Professor 
Darwin  according  to  the  chart  are  Rouge  fraise 
No.  2  within  the  petals,  Vin  de  Bordeaux  No. 
2  outside.  This  tulip  has  a  pale  lemon-colored 
pistil  and  a  prismatic  blue-black  base.  In  Edmee 
the  outer  petals  are  of  Amaranthe  No.  1,  with 
much  blue  in  these  pinkish  tones.  These  tulips 


DARWIN   TULIPS   WITH   IRIS   GERMANICA 


SPRING    FLOWERS 

are  beauteous  instances  of  the  development  of 
their  race. 

Let  me  suggest  to  those  who  do  not  yet  know 
the  newer  Darwins,  Cottage  tulips,  Breeders,  and 
Rembrandts  an  investment  in  a  few  bulbs  next 
fall,  if  only  a  half-dozen  of  each  of  some  of  the 
finer  varieties,  and,  each  for  himself,  see  the  won- 
ders of  these  flowers.  Make  your  selections  now 
and  place  your  orders  at  once  for  fall  delivery. 
In  the  first  three  classes,  if  I  were  to  choose  four 
out  of  each  as  introductory  lists,  they  should  be 
these: 

Cottage  or  May-flowering  Tulips:  Retroflexa  su- 
perba,  Moonlight,  the  Fawn,  Inglescombe  Pink. 
Darwins:  Clara  Butt,  Reverend  H.  Ewbank, 
Gudin,  and  Sophrosyne.  Breeders:  Coridion, 
Golden  Bronze,  Louis  XIV,  Goldfinch,  Velvet 
King,  and  Cardinal  Manning. 

These  are  but  short  lists,  not  combinations  of 
color  —  samples  of  some  of  the  finer  varieties 
in  the  three  classes.  Would  that  I  might  have 
named  Zomerschoon  in  the  Cottage  group  —  Zo- 
merschoon,  that  too  costly  tulip  of  unforgettable 
beauty. 

And  now  for  a  few  combinations  of  tulips  with 
other  flowers.  The  gayest  knot  of  flowers  of 
123 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

spring  may  be  produced  by  the  joint  use  of  Tulipa 
Gesneriana,  var.  rosea,  with  one  of  the  taller  forget- 
me-nots,  such  as  Perfection  or  Royal  Blue.  In 
this  vivid-crimson  tulip  there  is  a  dull-blue  base; 
something  of  that  blue  is  perhaps  imparted  to 
the  rosy  chalice  of  the  flower  and  makes  it  perfect 
company  for  the  sweetest  of  pale  blossoms. 

Mr.  Divers,  head  gardener  to  the  Duke  of 
Rutland,  makes  these  suggestions  as  to  combina- 
tions of  tulips  and  low-growing  plants  to  flower 
together:  Couleur  Cardinal,  a  single  early  tulip, 
with  Phlox  divaricata;  tulip  Picotee  is  also  rec- 
ommended with  the  phlox;  and  the  same  fine 
tulip  with  myosotis  Royal  Blue.  This  should  be 
exceedingly  good,  especially  as  we  recall  the  rosy 
flushing  of  Picotee  as  it  ages.  For  a  very  lively 
effect,  tulip  Vermilion  Brilliant  is  suggested  as 
a  companion  to  the  pale-yellow  primrose.  Mr. 
Divers  uses  ribbon  grass  (Phalaris  arundinacea, 
var.  variegata)  with  Phlox  divaricata,  tulip  Picotee, 
and  Avbrietia  Leichtlini,  plants  which  when  prop- 
erly set  with  relation  to  each  other's  heights  and 
habits  must  surely  make  a  perfect  picture  in 
lavender  and  rose. 

Another  authority  on  tulips  would  have  tulip 
Thomas  Moore,  that  tawny-orange  flower,  rise 
124 


SPRING    FLOWERS 

above  yellow  primroses;  the  Darwin  Erguste 
bloom  over  Phlox  divaricata,  or  Bouton  d'Or  with 
myosotis.  All  these  are  good;  and  a  trial  of  any 
two  together  must  convince  the  doubter  that  half 
spring's  pleasure  lies  in  tulip  time. 

Tulip  Bouton  d'Or,  almost  droll  in  its  fat  round- 
ness, and  whose  rare  rich  yellow  is  already  de- 
scribed, proved  most  excellent  in  conjunction  with 
the  cushion  irises  in  flower,  such  varieties  as  Isis 
and  Helense.  Their  strange  red-purples  were 
very  sumptuous  among  groups  of  these  tulips. 
Tulip  Le  Reve,  that  flower  whose  beauty  is  one 
of  my  perennial  delights,  showed  a  peculiar  charm 
rising  among  colonies  of  Mertensia  Virginica.  The 
general  tone  of  Le  Reve,  according  to  the  color 
chart,  is  Rose  brule  No.  1;  the  petals  are  feath- 
ered with  Rose  violace  No.  4,  while  the  centres 
of  the  outer  petals  show  Lilas  rougeatre.  The 
mertensia  flowers  are  of  Bleu  d'azur  No.  1, 
though  more  lavender-blue  and  with  greater  depth 
of  tone.  The  buds  are  of  Violet  de  cobalt  No.  1, 
the  leaves  Vert  civette  No.  3. 

A  suggestion  for  spring  planting  noted  last  season 

was  the  remarkably  rich  effect  of  tulips  Purple 

Perfection,  Vitellina,  and  Innocence  with  cut  buds 

and  blooms  of  the  superb  purple  lilac  Ludwig 

125 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

Spaeth.  A  noble  combination,  this,  for  a  border 
in  which  interesting  and  original  color  is  desired. 
Tulip  President  Lincoln  I  thought  a  great  find. 
The  chart  description  of  it  would  be  this :  darkest 
tone  of  petal,  Violet  d'iris  No.  2;  paler  part  of 
petal,  Lilas  violace  No.  2.  Let  me  suggest  with 
every  confidence  in  its  value  the  growing  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  with  the  two  tulips,  Mrs.  Collier 
and  Doctor  Hardy,  shown  in  color  on  the  cover 
of  the  Reverend  Joseph  Jacob's  capital  book, 
"Tulips,"  that  book  written  from  "the  innate 
fire  of  an  enthusiast's  heart."  The  Fawn,  the 
well-known  Darwin  tulip,  was  grown  among  two- 
year-old  plants  of  Hydrangea  arborescens.  Blanc 
rose  No.  3,  in  the  chart,  gives  an  idea  of  the 
tone  of  the  outer  petals  of  this  very  wonderful 
flower,  but  its  luminous  quality  will  not  be  de- 
scribed. An  underlying  tone  of  palest  yellow  in 
the  tulip  made  it  peculiarly  lovely  among  the 
leaves  of  the  hydrangea. 

I  have  come  to  believe  myself  among  the  most 
impressionable  of  gardeners;  delighted  at  the 
least  indication  of  the  love  of  flowers  in  a  casual 
acquaintance;  ever  ready  to  set  off  at  short  no- 
tice to  look  at  gardens;  but  not  always  so  de- 
lighted with  what  I  find.  And  since  there  is  in 
126 


SPRING    FLOWERS 

me  this  critical  quality,  born  doubtless  of  much 
looking  and  comparing  when  I  see,  as  I  saw  lately, 
a  garden  comparatively  small  in  compass  but  in- 
comparably interesting,  my  heart  fills  with  a  plea- 
sure not  unlike  the  poet's  at  the  sight  of  the  cele- 
brated daffodils. 

In  this  garden,  some  of  it  under  tall  trees,  a 
city  garden  not  a  hundred  miles  from  where  I 
live,  on  a  day  in  earliest  June,  there  was  to  be 
seen  a  most  lovely  flower  grouping,  in  which  the 
following  flowers  had  place:  Masses  of  that 
wonderful  pinkish-mauve  Iris  pallida,  Queen  of 
May,  tall  lupines  of  rich  blue  near  by,  with  Iris 
Madame  Chereau  back  of  this,  while  before  the 
group  and  among  it  were  opening  on  tall  stems 
the  luscious  silken  salmon-pink  flowers  of  the 
two  Oriental  poppies  Mrs.  Perry  and  Mary  Stud- 
holme.  Below  these  the  coral  bells  of  heucheras 
(alum-root)  hung  at  the  tops  of  slender  swaying 
stems,  a  slightly  richer  note  of  pink  than  the 
poppies. 

As  I  beheld  this  beauty  in  flowers,  I  said  to 
myself:  "Here  is  an  end  to  adjectives."  I  have 
none  in  which  to  adequately  describe  this  loveliness. 
It  must  be  seen  for  its  delicacy,  its  evanescent 
quality.  All  who  garden  know  the  texture  of 
127 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  poppy  petal,  of  the  flower  of  the  iris.  In 
no  medium  but  water-color  could  possibly  be  ex- 
pressed the  beauty,  the  daring  yet  delicate  beauty, 
of  this  arrangement  of  flowers.  I  am  permitted 
the  privilege  of  trying  to  describe  it  to  my  readers; 
and,  while  my  words  are  weak,  I  know  full  well 
that  any  flower-grower  is  to  be  congratulated  who 
may  endeavor  to  arrange  for  himself  the  picture 
here  set  forth.  All  hardy  perennials,  all  very 
hardy.  Do  pray  experiment  with  the  beauteous 
blooms;  set  them  out  together  this  coming  au- 
tumn in  some  sun-warmed  spot,  and  in  two  years 
behold  a  picture  unsurpassed  for  subtle  color  har- 
mony and  contrast.  In  this  garden  again  I  saw 
that  the  superb  poppy  of  the  group  above,  Mrs. 
Perry,  and  the  ever-glorious  Iris  pallida,  var.  Dal- 
matica,  dwell  most  happily  together,  the  poppy  a 
round  flower,  a  flower  on  horizontal  lines,  the  iris 
perpendicular,  standards  and  falls;  the  greens  of 
iris  and  of  poppy  foliage  delicately  contrasting;  in 
the  one  the  yellow  predominating,  in  the  other  the 
blue. 


128 


A    SMALL    SPRING    FLOWER 
BORDER 


"Though  not  a  whisper  of  her  voice  he  hear, 
The  buried  bulb  does  know 
The  signals  of  the  year 
And  hails  far  Summer  with  his  lifted  spear." 

—  COVENTRY  PATMOBB. 


A    SMALL    SPRING    FLOWER 
BORDER 

THE  tale  of  this  border  is  soon  told  —  not  the 
pleasure  of  it,  for  I  can  assure  the  reader 
that  from  early  spring  to  late  autumn,  from  the 
hour  when  peony  shoots  and  bulb  leaves  first 
pushed  their  way  through  the  ground,  there  has 
been  no  moment  when  this  place  had  not  a  pecul- 
iar interest.  A  slight  description  written  imme- 
diately after  the  original  planting  was  made,  and 
first  printed  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Garden  Club  of 
America,  may  here  be  introduced,  thanks  to  the 
courtesy  of  that  society. 

The  border  in  question  is  a  double  one,  a  bal- 
anced planting  on  either  side  of  a  walk  of  dark 
brick  about  two  and  a  half  feet  wide.  The  space 
allotted  to  flowers  flanking  the  walk  is  some  three 
feet._  Eight  subjects  are  used;  combinations  of 
color,  periods  of  bloom,  form  and  height  of  flowers 
and  plants,  all  are  considered. 

At  those  edges  of  the  borders  farthest  from 
131 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  walk  are  peonies  of  white  and  palest  pink  — 
Madame  Emile  Galle,  that  flower  of  enchant- 
ment predominating.  Next  the  peonies  toward 
the  walk,  comes  a  row  of  Iris  pallida  Dalmatica, 
then  an  alternating  line  of  7m  Kaempferi  and 
Spircea  astilbe  Arendsii  Die  Walkiire;  next  these 
the  Darwin  tulip  Agneta  planted  alternately  with 
English  iris  Mauve  Queen;  then  the  double  early 
tulip  Yellow  Rose  with  myosotis. 

Bleu  Celeste,  the  double  early  tulip  which  Miss 
Jekyll  calls  the  bluest  of  tulips,  was  to  have 
bloomed  with  the  vivid  flower  of  tulip  Yellow  Rose. 
But  because  of  Miss  JekylPs  commendation  of 
Bleu  Celeste,  or  possibly  for  the  more  prosaic 
reason  of  crop  failure  in  Holland,  my  very  late 
order  remained  unfilled,  and  Mr.  Van  Tubergen 
substituted  for  it  the  Darwin  Agneta.  This,  he 
assures  me,  is  nearly  the  color  of  Bleu  Celeste. 
Alas!  unfortunately  for  me,  Agneta  blooms  after 
Yellow  Rose,  thus  I  may  not  look  for  the  lovely 
bands  of  clear  yellow  and  dull  blue  which  were 
to  have  adorned  my  border  in  early  May.  Close 
to  the  brick  itself  are  mounds  of  Myosotis  dissiti- 
flora  and  Sutton's  Royal  Blue,  an  early  and  a 
late,  while  back  of  these  are  lines  of  Alyssum  sul- 
phureum,  the  hardy  one  of  primrose-yellow. 
132 


SPRING    FLOWER    BORDER 

I  count  on  the  Japanese  iris  as  an  ally  of  the 
English  one  (though,  oddly  enough,  this  was  ar- 
ranged long  before  war  broke  out),  the  latter  said 
to  be  a  delicious  shade  of  pinkish  mauve.  The 
cool  pink  spirea,  too,  should  create  a  delicate  foil 
for  the  broad-petalled  7m  Kaempferi,  and  my 
faint  and  perhaps  foolish  hope  is  that  a  few  forget- 
me-nots  may  be  tricked  into  blooming  on  till  iris 
Mauve  Queen  shows  its  color;  for  of  all  garden 
harmonies  I  dearly  love  the  pale  blues  and  mauves, 
brilliant  blues  and  deep  violets,  set  over  against 
each  other. 

How  charming  were  the  flowers  along  my  little 
brick  walk  about  the  15th  of  May !  Myosotis 
half  in  bloom,  and  the  soft  yellow-green  buds  of 
Yellow  Rose  among  and  above  it;  tulip  Agneta 
only  ranks  of  pointed  buds  back  of  these.  One 
week  later  great  blooms  of  yellow  tulip  (was  ever 
tulip  better  named?)  were  in  clusters  among  the 
myosotis  while,  above  this  canary  color  and  blue, 
Agneta  lifted  beautiful  lilac  cups.  The  effect  was 
indescribably  gay  and  original.  Leaves  of  Iris 
pallida  Dalmatica  were  now  broadening  back  of 
the  tulips,  spirea  spreading  its  delicately  cut 
green  and  brown-madder  foliage  between  the  iris 
spears,  and  young  peonies  repeated  these  tones 
133 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

of  spirea  leaves  in  a  vigorous  row  farthest  from 
the  walk. 

The  form  and  habit  of  Yellow  Rose  make  it  a 
tulip  particularly  fit  for  use  with  myosotis,  but 
its  yellow  is  too  strong  in  tone  for  the  lilac  and 
sky-blue  of  the  other  flowers.  Moonlight,  how- 
ever, is  too  near  Agneta  in  height.  Perhaps  Brim- 
stone (Safrano)  would  be  the  better  subject  here, 
but  Brimstone  blooms  earlier  than  Yellow  Rose. 
In  using  Brimstone,  however,  off  should  go  its 
head  so  soon  as  the  rose-pink  flush  begins  to  show, 
since  that  pink  would  doubtless  to  some  extent 
interfere  with  the  effect  of  the  three  pale  colors 
here  desired,  blue,  yellow,  and  lavender.  An- 
other suggestion  is,  as  substitute  for  the  Darwin 
Agneta  the  use  of  the  fine  tulip  Gudin,  certainly 
one  of  the  most  ravishing  of  all  the  Darwin  tribe; 
or  of  William  Copeland  (Sweet  Lavender),  the 
beauty  whose  charming  portrait  was  shown  in 
the  colored  plate  with  the  issue  of  the  "Garden- 
ers' Chronicle"  (English)  for  November,  1914. 

Brilliant,  telling,  as  these  spring  flowers  were, 
running  from  arch  to  arch  and  seen  against  green 
lawns,  after  ten  days  the  picture  was  yet  sweeter, 
for  the  yellow  tulips'  race  was  run,  the  myosotis 
had  lifted  delicate  blue-clad  stems  in  air,  and  the 
134 


SPRING    FLOWER    BORDER 

Darwin  pink-lavender  petals  were  atop  of  the 
straightest,  tallest  of  green  shafts,  so  many,  so 
exquisitely  erect,  that  a  memory  of  Velasquez's 
great  canvas  "The  Lances"  flashed  into  the  mind. 
Blue  and  lavender,  delicious  colors  near  each 
other,  made  this  walk  a  place  of  beauty  for  days 
after  the  yellow  tulip  blooms  had  fled. 

As  I  have  said,  this  is  a  beauty  of  lavender, 
deep  yellow,  and  pale  blue  for  perhaps  two  weeks. 
The  early  tulip  first  departs,  leaving  no  void,  for 
the  mauve  and  pale  blue  then  present  a  picture 
interesting  if  more  quiet.  About  the  27th  of  May 
tulip  petals  fall,  leaving  the  myosotis  a  band  of 
misty  blue  on  either  side  the  walk;  and  as  Ag- 
neta  fades  the  deep  blue-purple  Iris  Germanica, 
which  has  for  some  days  held  its  shafts  of  buds 
closed  and  ready  beside  the  Darwins,  suddenly 
bursts  into  great  flowers.  Unfortunately  for  my 
complete  satisfaction,  there  was  one  of  those  mis- 
takes in  the  identity  of  roots  which  must  some- 
times occur  in  gardens,  and  only  a  few  of  these 
proved  of  the  variety  and  the  tone  required  for 
this  setting. 

There  is  for  a  week,  the  first  week  of  June,  a 
lull.  Not,  however,  uninteresting,  for  the  blue- 
greens  of  tulip  leaves  are  still  fresh,  the  iris  swords 
135 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

are  fine  to  see,  and  the  delicately  cut  yellow-green 
of  spirea  foliage  is  charming,  covering  the  earth 
where  irises  have  sprung.  Back  of  these  are  the 
young  peonies  all  filled  with  rounded  buds,  straight, 
handsome,  and  distinct  against  the  smooth-shaven 
grass  beyond  the  border  on  either  side. 

July,  and  the  tardy  spirea  Die  Walktire  in  this 
border  has  not  flowered  yet.  Brownish  buds  are 
held  above  every  plant  and  soon  there  will  be 
bloom.  Although  there  are  now  no  flowers  along 
the  walk,  the  effect  of  various  types  of  plant  foli- 
age is  exceedingly  good.  Blue-green  leaves  of 
Iris  pallida  Dalmatica  rise  among  all  the  spireas  at 
regular  intervals  —  to  be  exact,  eighteen  irises  on 
either  side;  back  of  these,  away  from  the  walk, 
are  dark-green  peony  leaves;  toward  the  walk  are 
lines  of  drying  stems  of  English  iris,  pale-gray 
mounds  of  the  hardy  alyssum,  which  I  shall 
have  to  confess  failed  to  do  well  this  year, 
but  which  shall  have  another  invitation  to  this 
spot,  next  time  by  means  of  seed-sowing,  not 
transplanting. 

In  May  zinnias  in  those  pale  tones  I  so  much 

fancy  were  sown  among  the  myosotis  leaves;   by 

mid- July  they  were  opening  their  first  flowers;  and 

from  that  time  on,  the  walk  was  gay  till  late 

136 


SPRING    FLOWER    BORDER 

October,  the  rather  shallow  roots  seeming  not  in 
the  least  to  affect  the  welfare  of  other  subjects 
near  them.  The  illustration  shows  them  in  Sep- 
tember. Back  of  these  borders  of  flowers  since 
this  description  was  written  have  since  been  set 
close  rows  of  Spir&a  van  Houtteii,  whose  boughs, 
in  time  to  come,  are  to  be  permitted  to  fall  natu- 
rally on  the  side  away  from  the  walk,  but  to 
be  kept  close-shaven  on  that  toward  the  flower- 
borders  so  that  a  formal  green  background  may 
be  supplied. 

To  leave  the  border  now  for  a  few  generaliza- 
tions on  the  flowers  of  spring  and  early  summer. 
The  blooms  of  tulip  Jubilee  are  of  varying  heights, 
which  gives  this  tulip  a  peculiar  value,  even  as 
the  twisting  of  stem  in  certain  gladioli  makes  them 
more  valuable  for  some  purposes.  Avis  Kenni- 
cott,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  keep  the  yard- 
stick always  in  mind,  and  her  flowers  are  a  regi- 
ment of  golden  magnificence.  Ordinarily,  I  should 
never  place  Avis  Kennicott  near  Jubilee  and  La 
Fiancee,  as  they  are  here;  nor  should  I  allow 
Le  Reve  to  neighbor  these.  The  perfect  place 
for  Le  Reve  is  in  company  with  Mertensia  Virginica 
alone,  as  has  often  been  suggested  before.  Each 
year  this  combination  grows  upon  me. 
137 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

The  effect  of  sunlight  through  the  cups  of  La 
Fiancee  and  Jubilee  as  they  stand  together  up  a 
little  slope  fairly  well  covered  with  young  hem- 
lock spruces,  is  exceedingly  nice.  The  deep  violet 
of  Jubilee  and  rich  lavender-rose  of  La  Fiancee 
make  of  them  excellent  comrades  in  the  border. 
A  drift  of  tall  gold  flowers  stands  farther  up,  and 
beyond  the  group  of  spruces,  which  are  from  three 
to  ten  feet  high,  Heloise  shines  in  the  picture  with 
one  of  the  tallest  and  richest  of  flowers  of  a  fine 
deep-red.  Beyond  Heloise  comes  Herzogin  von 
Hohenberg,  of  a  medium  blue-purple  tone,  a  won- 
derfully valuable  color  in  Darwins,  rising  from 
quantities  of  myosotis;  and  far  up  the  rise  of 
ground  stands  a  group  of  tulip  Couleur  Cardinal. 
Beyond  these  again,  and  to  the  right,  a  whole 
colony  of  Tulip  reirqflexa  gleams  from  among  the 
dark  gray-green  boughs  of  hemlock  and  of  young 
white  pine.  Two  or  three  years  ago  some  charm- 
ing pictures  in  the  bulb-list  of  Messrs.  E.  H.  Kre- 
lage  and  Sons,  of  Haarlem,  filled  me  with  a  desire 
to  see  tulips  grown  among  evergreens.  The  pic- 
tures from  Holland  showed  this  effectively  done 
for  a  great  flower-show  at  Haarlem,  and  it  seemed 
to  me  that  nothing  could  be  more  lovely,  more 
striking,  too,  in  effect,  than  the  use  of  bulbs 
138 


SPRING    FLOWER    BORDER 

among  small  conifers  of  formal  habit.  The  true 
place  for  daffodils,  as  we  all  know,  is  in  spring 
meadows;  but  tulips  require  a  less  careless  han- 
dling, and,  while  it  is  true  that  I  have  grown  them 
nearly  always  in  loose  groups  and  masses,  I  am 
fast  coming  to  the  belief  that  the  tulip,  from  its 
own  aspect,  calls  for  design  in  planting.  Do  not 
for  a  moment  think  that  I  favor  the  planting 
suggestions  for  tulips  found  in  some  of  the  repre- 
sentative bulb-lists  of  America !  Far  from  it ! 

Iris  Crusader  is  a  magnificent  flower.  As 
many  as  four  blooms  are  open  at  one  time,  the 
lowest  a  foot  below  the  topmost;  for  these  flowers 
occur  at  four  places,  four  angles  on  the  stem. 
The  single  flower  is  a  glory,  its  prevailing  tone 
(Ridgway)  a  deep  bluish-violet.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  spring  of  the  long  curves  of  this 
flower  both  in  standard  and  fall  which  gives  it  a 
unique  beauty.  The  brownish  pencilling  at  the 
top  of  each  fall,  the  orange-yellow  beard  which 
surmounts  those  charming  tones  of  blue-violet 
which  suffuse  the  whole,  make  it  a  distinguished 
flower.  It  is  a  knight  among  irises;  and,  bloom 
occurring  just  before  the  pallida  section,  it  seems 
to  herald  a  company  of  nobles  of  the  garden.  No 
flower  could  bear  a  fitter  name  than  does  this  iris; 
139 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

whoever  named  it  had  a  sense  of  fitness  all  too 
rare. 

The  Rembrandt  tulip  has  for  the  last  two  or 
three  seasons  cast  its  spell  upon  me.  "America 
is  biting,"  says  an  English  tulip  authority  in 
words  better  calculated  to  give  pleasure  to  our 
friends,  the  Dutch  growers,  than  to  us!  Yet 
this  is  true:  the  charm  of  the  Rembrandt  is  be- 
ginning to  make  itself  felt  in  the  land.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  of  this  group  is  Bougainville 
Duran,  the  tones  of  whose  markings  are  (Ridgway) 
light  vinaceous-purple  and  neutral  red  —  these 
laid  upon  a  ground  of  delicious  ivory-white.  For 
richness  of  color  and  general  beauty  of  appear- 
ance this  is  the  finest  Rembrandt  I  have  seen. 
Its  use  below  lilacs,  especially  below  a  group  of 
young  low-flowering  bushes,  is  sure  to  give  pleas- 
ure —  before  Toussaint  1'Ouverture,  Souvenir  de 
Ludwig  Spaeth,  those  rich  red-violets  in  lilacs,  and 
those  bluer  ones,  President  Grevy  for  instance. 
Semele  is  another  fine  tulip  in  this  class  —  Ru- 
cellin-purple,  flaked  pomegranate-purple. 

A  planting  of  these  four  tulips  (names  below) 

over  or  back  of  a  low-flowering  plant  such  as  the 

deep-purple  aubrietia,  or  that  new  variety  which 

is  so  warmly  commended,  Lavender,  might  make 

140 


SPRING   FLOWER    BORDER 

a  good  spring  picture,  the  tulips  to  be  Reverend 
H.  Ewbank,  Bleu  Celeste,  Morales,  and  a  very 
few  white  ones,  such  as  Innocence  or  La  Candeur. 
Another  plan  is  to  plant  well  in  front  of  that 
grand  tulip  Flava  the  beautiful  lavender  Scilla 
campanulata  Excelsior;  and  between  this  and  the 
tulip  the  wonderful  mauve  iris  of  about  fifteen 
inches'  height,  Mrs.  Alan  Gray.  There  would  be 
a  sight  whose  loveliness  the  "scant  gray  meshes 
of  words"  could  never  catch  and  show.  A  fine 
delicacy  of  effect  this  —  palest  primrose  tulip, 
blue-lavender  scilla,  and  pinkish  lavender  in  the 
iris  blooms. 

A  wondrous  new  all-yellow  iris  in  the  Germanica 
tribe,  named  by  its  originator  for  Miss  C.  P.  Sher- 
win,  is  treasure-trove  for  the  June  garden.  Aqui- 
legia  chrysaniha  in  connection  with  this  iris,  or 
groups  of  the  latter  planted  below  the  perfect 
sprays  of  that  perfect  rose  known  as  spinosissima, 
or,  for  a  livelier  picture,  the  new  iris  before  the 
vivid  blue  of  the  anchusa  —  beauty  could  not  fail 
the  gardener  here. 

The  "lily-flowered"  tulips  just  announced  from 
Holland  and  never  yet  shown  in  America  will  cre- 
ate great  interest  here.  Sirene,  Adonis,  Argo,  mar- 
vellous tones  of  satiny  rose,  rich  rose,  golden  yel- 
141 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

low,  salmon-rose,  all  with  the  reflexed  petals  and 
tall  habit  of  Tulipa  retroflexa,  will  be  welcomed 
with  enthusiasm  if  they  prove  as  beautiful  as  their 
just-named  parent. 


142 


XI 

NOTES    ON    SOME    OF    THE 
NEWER    GLADIOLI 


"In  summer  a  strew  of  fresh  rushes,  mint,  and  gladiolus 
(that  flower  so  dear  to  mediaeval  eyes)  covered  the  pave- 
ment with  a  cool  fragrance,  while  a  bough  of  some  green 
tree  or  flowering  bush  filled  the  hearth." 

— (From  chapter  The  Mediaeval  Country-House), 
"The  Fields  of  France,"  MADAME  MART  DUCLAUX. 


XI 

NOTES    ON    SOME    OF    THE 
NEWER    GLADIOLI 

IT  is  November  and  all  tuberous  things,  all  ten- 
der bulbs,  have  been  "safely  garnered  in,  ere 
the  winter  storms  begin."  Dahlias  are  in  their 
sandy  nests;  gladioli  repose  in  labelled  paper  bags; 
tritomas,  Galtonias  are  in  dry,  cool  spots  for  winter 
safety. 

As  we  work  under  leafless  trees  and  where  noth- 
ing of  green  remains  save  the  bright  grass  and  the 
rich  hues  of  pine  and  hemlock,  the  colors  impris- 
oned within  each  bulb  are  sure  to  rise  before  me. 
I  see  again  the  rainbow  of  that  wonderful  exhibit 
of  gladiolus  as  it  was  to  be  seen  in  Chicago  last 
August;  the  matchless  beauty  of  such  blooms  as 
Niagara  and  Panama.  And  I  here  set  down  a 
few  notes  on  the  gladiolus  made  last  summer,  both 
at  home  and  away  from  it. 

And  first  let  me  say  that  the  best  recent  hap- 
pening for  the  lover  of  this  flower,  and  conse- 
quently, of  course,  the  best  thing  for  the  grower 
145 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

of  gladiolus  in  this  country,  was  the  formation  of 
the  American  Gladiolus  Society.  To  all  who  take 
serious  interest  in  this  flower,  I  would  recom- 
mend the  small  monthly  publication,  "The  Mod- 
ern Gladiolus  Grower,"  published  at  Calcium, 
New  York,  by  Mr.  Madison  Cooper,  himself  an 
amateur;  this  paper  is  the  organ  of  the  American 
Gladiolus  Society,  and  a  very  fountainhead  of 
expert  information  in  all  matters  relating  to 
gladioli. 

But  to  the  gladiolus  itself !  Let  me  herald  first 
the  coming,  the  glorious  coming  of  the  lavender 
beauty,  Badenia  by  name.  No  words  can  paint 
the  beauty  of  this  flower.  A  true  lavender  in 
color,  not  too  blue,  its  flowers  are  large,  finely 
expanded,  and  many  open  upon  the  stem  at  one 
time. 

Countless  combinations  of  this  with  other 
flowers  crowd  upon  one's  vision.  Which  would 
be  fairer,  an  arrangement  of  like  colors?  Shall 
we  let  Badenia  open  above  a  mass  of  well-staked 
velvet-purple  petunia?  Or  shall  we  see  it  rise 
above  quantities  of  cool-pink  Ostrich  Plume  aster  ? 
Again,  we  might  grow  it  near  palest  yellow  snap- 
dragon; or,  a  more  subtle  arrangement  yet,  plan 
to  have  it  late  against  Salvia  azurea,  the  junction 
146 


THE    NEWER    GLADIOLI 

of  its  stems  with  the  ground  masked  by  rippling 
mounds  of  Phlox  Drummondii,  var.  lutea.  All  pale 
yellows  and  buffs,  all  rich  purples,  all  blues  which 
are  almost  turquoise,  rise  to  the  mind  as  I  think 
of  the  delicious  pictures  easily  created  with  this 
noble  gladiolus.  Badenia  has  but  one  serious  de- 
fect, its  price  is  very  high.  To  remedy  that  con- 
dition let  us  wish  it  the  Arab  wish:  "May  its 
tribe  increase." 

Now  for  the  glorious  pair  Niagara  and  Panama. 
Niagara  shall  have  the  first  word.  Niagara  is 
quite  worthy  of  several  descriptions.  I  therefore 
give  first  its  commercial  one,  prefacing  that  by 
the  fact  that  it  has  already  secured  three  honors 
from  horticultural  societies,  including  one  from  the 
American  Gladiolus  Society.  "In  type,"  says  its 
originator,  "the  variety  resembles  America,  but 
the  flowers  appear  to  be  somewhat  larger,  meas- 
uring four  and  one-half  inches  across.  In  color  the 
flowers  are  a  delightful  cream  shade,  with  the  two 
lower  inside  petals  or  segments  blending  to  ca- 
nary-yellow. The  flower  spike  is  very  erect  and 
stout  and  is  wrapped  with  broad  dark-green 
foliage." 

Now,  to  be  exact  in  my  own  color  description 
of  this  flower,  Niagara  is  of  the  tone  known  as 
147 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

Naples  yellow  (color  chart,  Jaune  de  Naples  No.  2). 
Deep  in  its  throat  are  lines  of  faintest  lilac  (color 
chart,  Rose  lilace  No.  4).  These,  however,  do  not 
in  the  least  interfere  with  the  general  effect  of 
palest  yellow  or  cream  given  by  the  whole  fine 
flower. 

Two  combinations  of  Niagara  with  other  flow- 
ers flew  to  my  mind,  as  I  held  this  beauty  in  my 
hand.  Phlox  E.  Danzanvilliers  back  of  it,  agera- 
tum  Stella  Gurney  below  and  in  front.  The  phlox 
can  be  made  to  hold  its  bloom  for  some  time  — 
the  ageratum,  as  we  know,  is  incessant.  Again, 
nothing  lovelier,  thought  I,  than  Niagara  with 
salpiglossis  of  that  dark  velvety  mahogany  known 
as  Faust;  or  below  phlox  Von  Hochberg.  The 
color  at  the  base  of  the  gladiolus,  slight  though 
it  is,  is  very  little  lighter  than  the  wine-purple  of 
this  phlox  itself.  Lovely,  too,  should  Niagara  be 
with  all-lavender  hardy  asters,  especially  with 
that  of  the  barren  name  of  James  Ganly. 

Panama,  a  sister  of  Niagara,  was  the  third  cap- 
tivator  of  the  gladiolus  show.  I  here  declare, 
speaking  with  all  possible  calmness,  that  it  is  the 
softest  and  most  charming  tone  of  pronounced 
rose-pink  I  have  ever  noticed  in  a  flower.  It 
makes  one  think  of  roses,  of  the  best  roses,  par- 
148 


THE    NEWER    GLADIOLI 

ticularly  of  Mrs.  John  Laing,  and  while  I  have 
never  fancied  the  idea  which  obtains  here  and  there 
of  growing  gladioli  among  roses,  because  of  the 
leggy  look  of  both  roses  and  gladioli  at  their  best, 
yet,  if  it  must  be  done,  Panama  is  the  flower  to 
place  in  our  rose-beds !  The  pink  of  Panama  is 
that  called  mauve-rose  (color  chart,  Rose  malvace 
No.  2).  Almost  invisible  markings  there  are, 
deep  in  its  throat,  of  purple-carmine  (Carmin 
pourpre  No.  2).  A  setting  of  lyme  grass,  Elymus 
arenarius,  is  suggested,  with  perhaps,  near  by,  a 
few  blooms  of  the  new  decussata  phlox  of  luscious 
pink,  Elizabeth  Campbell.  While  the  phlox  is 
lighter  in  tone  than  the  gladiolus,  the  pinks  are 
of  precisely  the  same  type,  for  I  have  compared 
the  living  flowers.  Verbena  Dolores  might  fur- 
nish the  base  of  this  planting  to  charming  ad- 
vantage. 

With  the  older  gladioli,  Peace,  Dawn,  and 
Afterglow,  we  have  a  sextet  of  what  seemed  to 
me  the  most  beautiful  of  the  newer  gladioli, 
America  excepted,  but  America  is  now  established. 
It  will  be  noticed,  too,  that  I  am  far  too  modest 
to  describe  my  own  beautiful  namesake,  but  I  own 
to  such  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  this  flower  and  its 
brilliant  and  unmatchable  flame-pink,  that  I  could 
149 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

not  under  the  circumstances  write  dispassionately 
of  it. 

The  above-mentioned  sextet,  then,  I  would 
say,  comprises  several  of  the  newer  varieties  of 
gladiolus  whose  interesting  color  and  fine  form 
fit  them  particularly  fcr  garden  groupings  of  orig- 
inality and  charm.  Of  other  fine  varieties  I  shall 
presently  speak,  but  these  are  really  marvellous 
for  beauty.  One  has  but  to  see  them  to  feel  ideas 
for  placing  them,  flocking  softly  to  one's  brain. 
Next  year,  oh,  next  year! 

It  is  impossible  to  overpraise  the  cool  elegance  of 
gladiolus  Peace.  Its  flowers  are  milky-white  (color 
chart,  Blanc  de  lait  No.  1)  with  well-defined  nar- 
row stripes  on  the  lower  petals,  far  back  in  the 
throat,  of  rosy  magenta  (color  chart,  Magenta 
rougeatre  No.  1).  The  variety  is  said  to  be  un- 
surpassed for  cutting,  as  the  flowers  keep  well  in 
water,  and  buds  will  open  the  entire  length  of  the 
spike.  Peace  is  surely  the  noblest  white  gladiolus. 
Its  large  flower,  the  slender  violet  markings  so  well 
within  the  throat  that  there  is  hardly  an  effect  of 
color,  gives  one  the  impression  of  a  pure  white  spike 
of  bloom  which  had  once  looked  upon  an  evening 
sky. 

Two  gladioli  with  charmingly  suggestive  names 

150 


THE    NEWER   GLADIOLI 

are  Dawn  and  Afterglow.  Dawn,  the  lovely  and 
poetic  both  in  name  and  in  look,  has  for  its  gen- 
eral color  salmon-carmine  (color  chart,  Carmin 
saumone  No.  1).  In  my  own  tongue  I  should 
call  this  flower  suffused  with  delicate  coral-pink 
—  the  buds  like  the  palest  coral  from  Naples  — 
these  buds,  too,  gracefully  drooping  with  a  large 
softness  peculiarly  their  own.  Dawn  —  what  sug- 
gestion in  the  name!  Dawn  rising  among  well- 
established  groups  of  the  Japanese  anemones 
Whirlwind  or  Beaute  Parfaite;  Dawn  with  the 
salmon-pink  geranium  Beaute  Poitevine;  Dawn 
in  conjunction  with  Niagara  —  all  these  are  sure 
to  prove  arrangements  to  charm  one's  eye  in  mid- 
summer. There  is  a  salmon-pink  balsam  above 
which  Dawn  might  be  enchanting.  Afterglow 
greatly  caught  my  fancy.  In  general  tone  it  is  a 
flesh-pink  (color  chart,  Rose  carne  No.  4),  with 
throat  markings,  very  apparent,  lilac-purple  (chart, 
Fuchsine  No.  4).  A  rich  salmon  of  generally  the 
same  tone  in  all  its  flowers  would  be  my  own 
description  of  it. 

Taconic  I  had  opportunity  to  observe  closely 

last  August;  its  general  color  is  mauve-rose  (Rose 

malvace  No.  2),  though  the  flakes  of  white  very 

finely  distributed  over  the  prevailing  tone  make 

151 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

it  difficult  to  exactly  place  the  color.  Its  mark- 
ings are  of  carmine-purple  (Pourpre  carmine  No. 
3),  slim,  narrow  lines.  The  effect  of  the  flower 
was  of  a  beautiful  warm  pink  flaked  and  feath- 
ered with  white,  as  in  a  Breeder  tulip;  the  mark- 
ings, however,  much  more  delicate. 

Philadelphia  and  Evolution  come  next  to  mind; 
the  former  in  color  mauve-rose  (chart,  Rose  mal- 
vace  No.  1),  clear  pale  rose-pink  tone,  fine  form, 
a  wide,  large  flower  with  sharp,  narrow  markings 
in  the  throat,  of  carmine-purple  (chart,  Pourpre 
carmine  No.  3).  Evolution's  prevailing  tone  is 
mauve-rose  (chart,  Rose  malvace  No.  1,  flaked 
with  No.  4  on  the  same  plate,  and  with  dark  old- 
rose — chart,  Rose  brule  No.  3).  The  anthers  of 
this  pair  of  lovely  gladioli,  with  their  pale-pink 
tones  —  the  anthers  are  of  the  shade  called  bluish 
lilac  (Lilas  bleuatre  No.  1)  —  give  genuine  distinc- 
tion to  these  flowers. 

Gladiolus  Rosella  is  a  lovely  thing.  In  its 
main  tone  carmine-purple  (chart,  Pourpre  car- 
mine No.  1,  with  its  throat  markings  No.  3  on 
the  same  plate),  the  effect  is  of  a  huge  flower  of 
rich  orchid-like  pink,  very  beautiful,  a  very  open, 
spreading  flower.  Rosella  above  ageratum  Stella 
Gurney  cannot  fail  to  be  a  success  in  color  plant- 
152 


THE    NEWER    GLADIOLI' 

ings;  Rosella  below  Salvia  azurea,  with  the  an- 
nual pink  mallow  near  by;  and,  last,  Rosella  with 
Baron  Hulot,  that  small-flowered  but  ever-needed 
gladiolus  of  the  color  known  as  bishop's  violet 
(chart,  Violet  ev£que  No.  4).  I  am  myself  minded 
to  grow  Baron  Hulot  in  the  midst  of  ageratum 
Stella  Gurney  —  precisely  as  one  lets  a  colony  of 
tulips  appear  above  forget-me-not;  and  Baron 
Hulot  would  be  also  most  perfect  among  the  fine 
creamy  flowers  of  chrysanthemum  Garza. 

With  a  few  very  short  descriptions  I  have  done. 
Senator  Volland  is  an  interesting  flower,  the  gen- 
eral tone  of  its  petals  bright  violet  (chart,  Violet 
de  campanule  No.  1).  Blotches  of  amaranth 
(chart,  Amarante  No.  4),  with  yellow-white  spaces 
below  these,  occur  on  the  inferior  petals,  with  a 
lovely  mottling  of  the  amaranth  on  these  lower 
petals  as  well.  "Bright  violet"  does  not  describe 
the  color  of  this  flower  to  me  as  well  as  pale 
cool  lavender,  with  richer  lavender  or  purple  on 
the  throat,  flakes  of  a  true  cream  color  upon  the 
purple.  Canary-bird,  with  its  clear  light  yellow 
(no  visible  markings  of  any  other  color),  is  most 
charming  in  combination  with  Senator  Volland. 
And  the  Senator  again  might  stand  to  great  ad- 
vantage before  tall  groups  of  Physostegia  Virginica, 
153 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

var.  rosea,  the  soft  rosy  false  dragon's-head.  The 
color  of  Canary-bird  on  the  chart  is  sulphur-yel- 
low (Jaune  soufre  No.  1). 

Isaac  Buchanan  may  not  be  a  new  gladiolus 
but  it  was  new  to  me  —  a  lemon-flaked  soft  pink, 
the  flakes  giving  a  charming  effect.  The  flower 
is  not  large,  but  rare  in  color,  and  above  Phlox 
Drummondii,  var.  lutea,  an  interesting  effect  should 
be  got.  Snowbird  is  a  lovely  white  with  pinkish- 
violet  slender  markings  in  the  throat;  La  Luna, 
a  soft  creamy  white  with  a  very  clearly  defined 
marking  of  richest  Pompeiian  red  on  the  throat; 
California,  a  pinkish  lavender  gladiolus,  is  an  ex- 
cellent color  for  use  with  America;  Princess  Al- 
tiere,  a  very  large  pure  white  with  royal-purple 
markings  on  the  lower  petals;  and  Independence, 
a  magnificent  salmon-pink,  very  light  in  tone,  re- 
minding me  in  a  general  way  of  the  fine  old  Wil- 
liam Falconer,  but  far  and  away  better  in  type  — 
every  gladiolus  named  here  is  to  me  worth  getting 
and  growing. 

I  emphatically  advise  the  buying  of  small  quan- 
tities of  these  bulbs  as  a  starter,  as  one  would 
with  fine  tulips;  the  careful  labelling,  staking, 
comparing  with  other  flowers  differing  in  form, 
color,  and  habit  but  blooming  simultaneously;  and, 
154 


THiE    NEWER   GLADIOLI 

most  necessary  of  all,  the  note-making  in  one's 
little  book  —  that  little  book  which  should  never 
be  in  the  house  when  the  gardener  is  in  the  garden  ! 
I  was  greatly  interested  to  learn  that  florists  pre- 
fer for  cutting  in  some  cases,  the  gladiolus  whose 
stems  are  allowed  to  bend  and  twist  as  they 
bloom.  A  hint  of  this  kind  may  be  valuable  for 
some  of  us  who  grow  this  superb  flower  mainly 
to  put  about  our  houses.  It  is  easy  to  see  the 
agreeable  variety  of  line  afforded  for  such  purposes 
by  the  gladiolus  which  has  not  been  strictly 
staked. 

On  going  over  what  has  been  said,  I  marvel  at 
my  attempt  to  write  on  the  glories  of  this  special 
flower.  I  have,  in  the  first  place,  left  out  so  many 
beauties,  such  for  instance  as  Sulphur  King,  Mrs. 
Frank  Pendleton,  Jr.  (bright  rose-pink,  a  little 
deeper  toward  centre  of  the  flower,  the  lower 
petals  blotched  with  carmine  —  so  remarkable 
that  a  connoisseur  writes  of  it:  "Mrs.  Pendleton 
is  in  bloom,  has  a  five-foot  stalk  with  twenty 
flowers  and  a  smaller  offshoot  with  twelve;  it  is 
simply  magnificent"),  William  Falconer,  America, 
Kunderd's  Glory  —  there  are  dozens  which  should 
come  into  any  writing  in  connection  with  this 
flower.  No  flower  of  the  garden  proves  more  irre- 
155 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

sistible  to  me  than  this.  Its  lovely  perpendicular 
line  first,  lily  like,  irislike;  then  its  truly  pris- 
matic range  of  exquisite  color.  No  wonder  that 
hybridizers  in  Holland,  France,  Germany,  Great 
Britain,  and  this  country  have  been  earnestly 
working  now  for  years  upon  so  beautiful  a  sub- 
ject, or  that  amateur  hybridizers  are  beginning 
to  crop  out  in  our  own  land. 

The  cultivation  of  the  gladiolus  is  so  exceed- 
ingly simple;  the  results  so  wonderfully  reward- 
ing; the  color  effects  so  certain  of  accomplish- 
ment with  flowers  which  come  as  true  to  type 
and  color  as  these;  there  is  everything  to  praise 
in  this  flower,  no  check  to  the  imagination  when 
forming  one's  summer  plans  with  lists  of  it  by 
one's  side.  Gardens  of  enchantment  might  easily 
be  created  by  the  careful  use  of  two  annuals  such 
as  dark  heliotrope,  ageratum  Stella  Gurney,  and 
the  lavender,  cool,  pink,  and  palest-yellow  gladi- 
olus, mentioned  in  these  pages.  A  mistake  of 
judgment  would  be  almost  impossible  with  these 
materials  in  hand. 


150 


XII 
MIDSUMMER    POMPS 


*Soon  will  the  high  Midsummer  pomps  come  on, 
Soon  will  the  musk  carnations  break  and  swell, 
Soon  shall  we  have  gold-dusted  snapdragon, 
Sweet-William  with  his  homely  cottage  smell, 
And  stocks  in  fragrant  blow; 
Roses  that  down  the  alleys  shine  afar, 
And  open,  jasmine-muffled  lattices, 
And  groups  under  the  dreaming  garden-trees, 
And  the  full  moon,  and  the  white  evening  star." 
—  MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 


XII 

MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

A!  I  sat  in  my  garden  one  fine  evening  in  late  June 
of  the  year  just  gone,  my  eye  wandered  over 
near-by  heads  of  pale-pink  peonies,  and  beyond 
other  white  ones,  to  a  distant  corner  where  a  rather 
unusual  color  effect  had  appeared.  At  the  back 
of  this  flower  group  was  a  tall  dark-blue  del- 
phinium, name  unknown;  to  the  right  stood  the 
charming  one  La  France,  its  round  flowerets  set 
thickly  and  evenly  up  the  stem,  their  general 
tone  a  pale  pinkish-mauve.  Directly  below  La 
France  the  fingered  stems  of  the  lovely  perennial 
foxglove,  Digitalis  ambigua,  were  to  be  seen.  Be- 
side the  buff  foxglove  masses  of  the  purple-blue 
Campanula  persicifolia,  erect  and  delicate,  had 
place,  and  the  foremost  flowers  of  the  group  were 
gay  single  pyrethrums,  with  a  high  light  in  the 
presence  of  a  few  of  the  common  white  daisies. 
In  the  warm  evening  light  the  flowers  seemed  to 
take  on  a  new  aspect.  The  blue  of  the  tall  lark- 
spur spires  had  acquired  a  translucent  quality; 
159 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  little  Annchen  Mueller  roses  set  thick  against 
opening  gypsophila  glowed  like  rubies;  the  great 
white  peonies  flushed  in  the  setting  sun  till  one 
might  fancy  that  Festiva  maxima  had  magically 
become  that  beauty  of  beauties  in  peonies,  Ma- 
dame Emile  Galle. 

A  few  particularly  fine  delphiniums  have  this 
year  attained  special  perfection  in  the  garden,  in 
better  shades  of  light  blue  than  any  before  seen 
here,  except  perhaps  for  the  blue  of  the  old  fa- 
vorite Cantab  and  the  fine  Madame  Violet  Geslin 
which  a  year  ago  was  a  revelation.  La  France, 
elsewhere  described,  gave  great  delight.  Kelway's 
Lovely  was  remarkable  for  its  overlaid  petals  of 
palest  blue  and  palest  lavender.  The  beauteous 
Persimmon,  too,  was  there;  its  color  so  truly 
sky-blue  that  when  a  flower  was  held  against  the 
heavenly  canopy  of  a  fine  summer's  day,  it  seemed 
to  disappear,  to  melt  into  its  own  hue.  One 
could  wish  that  handsome  spring-blooming  thing, 
muscari  Heavenly  Blue,  relieved  of  its  present 
ill-fitting  name  and  the  pretty  title  bestowed  in- 
stead upon  delphinium  Persimmon.  This  it  in 
very  truth  describes. 

One  of  those  discerning  friends  who  send  de- 
tails of  flowers  seen  afar  off,  wrote  from  England 
160 


DELPHINIUM   LA   FRANCE,    CAMPANULA    PERSICIFOLIA,    DIGITALIS 
AMBIGUA   AND   PYRETHRUM 


MIDSUMMER   POMPS 

the  first  news  of  the  two  delphiniums  shown  facing 
page  164;  these  were  prize-winning  flowers  at 
the  Holland  House  show  of  1913,  and  first  shown 
in  1908.  On  the  left  is  a  marvellous  spike  of 
palest  sky-blue  and  lavender  Statuaire  Rude. 
The  enormous  size  of  the  flowerets  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  range  themselves  loosely  up  the 
stem,  joined  to  a  rare  beauty  in  soft  color  tones, 
give  this  delphinium  a  peculiar  distinction.  In 
the  Alake,  at  the  right  of  illustration,  petals  of  the 
richest  blue  are  overlaid  by  others  of  richest  vio- 
let, affording  an  effect  entirely  unique  and  entirely 
sumptuous:  delightful  to  record,  the  flower  is 
named  for  an  Indian  potentate!  The  celebrated 
"what"  that's  in  a  name  never  troubles  me  so 
much  as  in  this  matter  of  flower  nomenclature. 
Most  women  gardeners  who  are  readers,  too,  are 
sensitive  to  the  fitness  of  flower  names.  I  have 
been  ever  averse  to  the  naming  of  flowers  for  in- 
dividuals, unless  the  individual  so  honored  shall 
have  rendered  some  service  to  horticulture.  In 
the  terminations  "Willmotti,"  "Sargentii,"  and 
other  such,  we  rejoice;  similarly  in  "nigella  Miss 
Jekyll,"  "peony  Baroness  Schroeder";  these  bring 
most  properly  and  with  a  certain  mental  stimulus 
to  our  recollection  those  whose  gardens,  whose 
161 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

scientific  knowledge,  or  whose  writings  have  been 
of  world-wide  value  to  the  gardening  public.  But 
I  could  not  bring  myself  to  buy  a  Japanese  iris 
yclept  Hobart  J.  Park  —  no,  not  unless  some  ac- 
count of  Mr.  Park,  his  tastes  and  his  doings,  should 
accompany  his  name  in  the  plant  list.  Nor  do 
I  find  the  name  of  J.  G.  Slack  peculiarly  inviting 
when  attached  to  one  of  that  same  poetic  tribe  of 
iris.  Do  seedsmen  name  flowers  for  good  cus- 
tomers ?  I  mightily  fear  it !  Names,  to  be  per- 
fection, should  first  carry  some  descriptive  qual- 
ity, and  next  they  should  be  words  of  beauty. 
Many  examples  might  be  given:  Dawn,  most 
aptly  fit  for  the  lovely  pale-pink  gladiolus  which  it 
adorns;  Capri  (a  name,  of  course,  to  conjure  with), 
a  true  felicity  as  a  name  for  a  delphinium  of  a  rav- 
ishing tone  of  sky-blue;  Eyebright,  for  that  won- 
drous daffodil  with  scarlet  centre;  Bonfire,  for  the 
salvia's  burning  reds;  Lady  Gay,  the  happiest  hit 
in  names  for  that  sweet  little  rose  which  will 
dance  anywhere  in  the  sun  and  wind  of  June. 

A  sight  most  lovely  is,  of  a  summer's  evening, 
to  see  Delphinium  Moerheimi  lifting  its  white  spires 
of  flowers  against  a  green  background  of  shrub- 
bery with  a  blue  mist  of  sea-holly  below  it,  and 
in  the  foreground,  rising  from  gypsophila  masses, 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

other  spires  of  richest  rose-pink  hollyhock.  White 
and  lavender  phloxes  in  the  middle  distance  add 
to  the  charm  of  this  picture.  Tapis  Blanc,  and 
Antonin  Mercie,  and  the  little  dark  balls  of  box- 
trees,  and  the  blooming  standard  Conrad  F.  Meyer 
roses  with  their  formal  flavor,  are  agreeable  acces- 
sories, really  enhancing  the  beauty  of  the  freer 
flower  masses. 

As  each  summer  appears  and  waxes,  I  think  I 
have  found  the  companion  for  sea-holly.  One  year 
it  was  phlox  Coquelicot  or  its  brilliant  brother 
R.  P.  Struthers;  another  year  phlox  Pantheon 
was  my  favorite  for  the  honor;  while  last  year  I 
was  entirely  captivated  by  the  effect  of  the  an- 
nual Statice  bonduelli,  primrose  or  canary-yellow, 
with  the  blue-gray  eryngium.  But  this  season  a 
large  group  of  the  sea-hollies  chanced  to  bloom 
beside  another  group  of  pentstemon,  and  a  happy 
alliance  it  was,  quite  the  happiest  of  all.  The 
brilliant  color  of  the  pentstemon,  Pentstemon  bar- 
bolus  Torreyii,  found  its  perfect  concomitant  in  the 
cloudy  blues  of  the  eryngium,  and  the  two  to- 
gether formed  a  satisfying  spectacle.  This  pent- 
stemon, not  one  of  the  newer  hybrids,  I  also 
liked  for  use  in  the  house,  especially  when  rising 
from  bowlfuls  of  the  creamy  heads  of  Hydrangea 
163 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

arborescens;  the  effect,  a  severe  contrast,  was  good. 
The  pentstemon  is  a  trifle  too  near  scarlet  to  be 
welcome  in  my  garden  —  it  must  remain  without 
the  gate;  but  in  gayer  gardens  than  mine  it  should 
always  have  place.  Lovely  it  would  surely  be 
above  mounds  of  cream-white  zinnias  in  full  bloom 
with  a  sweet  pea  like  Barbara  rising  back  of  the 
pentstemon. 

Sea-holly !  I  could  sing  its  praises  for  pages ! 
Sea-holly  has  never  seemed  to  me  to  find  its  per- 
fect companion  for  cutting  until,  in  the  trial  gar- 
den, acquaintance  was  luckily  made  with  the  an- 
nual Statice  sinuata  bonduelli.  Statice  incana  has 
here  been  known  and  loved;  Statice  latifolia,  that 
beautiful  violet  statice  which  ladies  buy  on  Edin- 
burgh streets;  but  Statice  bonduelli,  with  its  deli- 
cate yellow  blooms,  became  in  a  day  a  prime  favor- 
ite. The  loveliness  of  its  foot-high  branching  stems 
covered  with  tiny  canary-yellow  flowers,  when 
cut  and  held  against  the  bluish  sea-holly,  can 
hardly  be  imagined.  Gypsophila  paniculata,  the 
double  variety,  is  good  with  the  two,  but  possibly 
the  pair  are  best  alone.  For  out-of-door  effect 
the  statice  should  not  be  overlooked;  though  its 
stems  are  rather  sparse,  its  leaves  entirely  basal, 
it  is  nevertheless  a  treasure,  and  a  charming  result 
164 


DELPHINIUMS  THE  ALAKE  AND  8TATUAIRE  RUDE 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

occurs  when  the  later  mauve  variety  blooms,  with 
many  heads  of  a  new  pale-yellow  centaurea  gently 
forcing  their  way  to  the  sun  through  the  tiny 
lavender  statice  blossoms. 

Gladiolus  primulinus  hybrids  are  a  delight  to 
the  "garden  soul."  Exquisite  soft  tones  of  pale 
yellow  with  now  and  again  some  spikes  of  a  pale 
flame-pink,  they  are  most  lovely  as  they  grow, 
while  for  cutting,  used  with  Statice  bonduelli  and 
the  double  gypsophila,  nothing  could  be  more 
attractive.  Add  to  your  arrangement  of  these 
flowers  a  cluster  of  that  enchanting  sweet  pea, 
Sterling  Stent,  you  shall  rejoice  in  what  you  have 
created.  Sterling  Stent!  I  betray  a  valuable 
gardening  secret  when  I  tell  of  him.  His  color, 
according  to  the  French  chart,  is  Laque  de  Ga- 
rance  from  1  to  4  with  occasional  tones  of  Rouge 
peche  4.  Beautiful  beyond  description  is  he,  and 
he  f adeth  not  in  sun ! 

And  now  a  word  concerning  a  certain  double 
rose-colored  annual  poppy,  a  poppy  which  has 
become  a  rose-pink  essential  to  this  garden.  One 
of  Sutton's  hollyhocks,  a  double  pink  of  the  exact 
tone  of  these  poppies  (chart,  all  shades  of  Rose 
Nilsson),  has  made  a  picture  here  and  there,  lifting 
its  tall  stems  set  with  rich  pink  bosses  of  rosy 
165 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

petals  above  the  rounding  gypsophilas  in  whose 
lacy  masses  some  poppies  softly  bloom.  So  like 
are  the  poppies  to  the  individual  hollyhock  flowers 
that  it  is  as  if  some  of  the  former  had  whimsically 
decided  to  grow  along  a  hollyhock  stalk.  If  one 
were  to  try  for  this  effect,  a  new  gladiolus,  Display, 
should  be  freely  used  within  the  range  of  vision 
here;  and  the  beauteous  sea-holly  would  again 
prove  its  high  garden  value  if  groups  should  be 
set  in  this  picture.  Among  the  pink  poppies  I 
very  much  fancy  the  white  platycodon,  P.  grandi- 
florum  album;  the  pearly  tone  of  these  flowers 
charming  with  the  gay  poppy-blooms,  and  the 
platycodon's  smooth  pointed  cups  affording  an 
interesting  contrast  to  the  other's  soft  fulness  of 
fringed  silk.  Gladiolus  Display  among  sea-holly 
could  not  but  be  excellently  effective.  It  is  a 
gladiolus  of  rare  beauty. 

Let  us  not  pass  by  the  Oriental  poppy  in  our 
consideration  of  the  flowers  of  the  poppy  tribe. 
In  the  latitude  of  Boston  the  fresh  pale-green 
tufts  of  the  former  may  be  discovered  in  early 
April,  a  heartening  and  lovely  sight  as  the  last 
snows  of  winter  are  vanishing  before  the  spring 
sun.  These  have  formed  in  the  previous  autumn, 
but  this  perennial  has  a  constitution  to  withstand 
166 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

the  severest  of  winters.  Here  is  a  flower  which 
does  well  in  any  good  garden  soil,  though  sunlight 
is  its  prime  necessity.  Equally  vital  to  its  well- 
doing is  its  transplanting  when  dormant  in  August 
or  September,  or  so  I  used  to  think.  I  know  now, 
after  some  experimenting,  that  the  Oriental  poppy 
can  be  safely  moved  in  spring  as  well. 

Until  two  years  ago,  when  some  of  the  varieties 
of  this  flower  of  recent  introduction  were  revealed 
to  me,  I  was  ignorant  of  the  development  of  the 
flower. 

"Then  felt  I  like  some  watcher  of  the  skies 
When  a  new  planet  swims  into  his  ken." 

Princess  Victoria  Louise,  the  huge  bloom  of  a 
delicious  rosy-salmon  hue,  was  a  sensation.  One 
who  enjoys  the  delicate  suggestion  of  thin  flame 
should  stand  before  this  flower  transported  with 
delight.  And  now  the  list  of  Bertrand  H.  Farr, 
of  Wyomissing,  Pennsylvania,  gives  us  no  less 
than  thirty  varieties  of  Oriental  poppies  in  only 
five  of  which  the  word  "scarlet"  enters  into  the 
descriptions.  All  the  rest  verge  upon  the  salmon, 
apricot,  amaranth,  and  deep-mulberry  shades.  The 
lighter  colors  of  these  newer  poppies  are,  as  has 
been  suggested,  very  like  those  of  the  Shirley 
poppy,  and  how  remarkable  to  find  in  the  larger, 
167 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

stronger,  and  more  enduring  flowers  the  charming 
color  characteristics  of  that  poppy,  whose  one 
defect  is  its  ephemeral  quality! 

From  a  color-plate  in  the  list  of  the  plantsman 
just  mentioned  a  very  beautiful  combination  of 
poppies  should  be  got  by  using  the  rich  amaranth 
Mahony,  described  as  "deep  mahogany-maroon," 
but  which  I  should  call  a  blackish  mulberry,  with 
Rose  Queen,  a  fine  satiny  rose-pink.  The  revolu- 
tion in  color  in  these  poppies  transforms  them  at 
once  into  subjects  of  the  greatest  interest  for  the 
formal  or  informal  garden,  the  garden  which  pre- 
cludes the  use  of  scarlet,  orange,  or  any  deep 
yellow.  The  rich  darkness  of  Mahony  would  be 
a  heavenly  sight  with  the  Dropmore  anchusa  ris- 
ing back  of  it,  but  for  real  nobility  of  effect  the 
two  should  be  used  alone. 

Some  plants  seem  a  bit  dull  in  their  beginnings; 
not  so  with  this,  for  from  the  first  the  lovely  form 
and  curve  of  each  leaf  is  apparent,  aside  from  the 
fresh  yellow-green  of  the  leaf-group.  To  fill  the 
wide  spaces  of  earth  which  should  occur  between 
plants  destined  for  so  rapid  and  so  large  a  growth, 
tulips  are  suggested;  to  follow  the  poppy  bloom 
and  act  again  as  a  ground  cover,  seed  of  salpi- 
glossis  sown  early,  or  of  tall  marigold,  whose  foli- 
168 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

age  and  bloom  will  in  August  and  September 
seem  to  be  the  only  inhabitants  of  this  part  of 
the  border  or  the  garden.  If  the  objection  be 
raised  that  the  poppy  leaves  must  shade  such 
seeds  in  May  and  June,  I  reply  that  it  is  easy  so 
to  stake  aside  a  leaf  or  two  of  the  poppy  in  many 
places  as  to  allow  the  sun  full  access  to  the  little 
seedlings  of  annuals. 

Shall  I  be  forgiven  for  returning  to  the  subject 
of  sea-lavenders,  or  statices,  for  a  moment  ?  Seeds 
of  several  varieties  started  under  glass  not  only 
made  a  pretty  effect  in  rows  but  became  a  ne- 
cessity for  cutting.  The  variety  bonduelli  already 
mentioned  was  tried  for  the  first  time,  taken  on 
faith  and  the  word  of  Sutton  &  Sons.  It  found 
favor  at  once.  Statice  sinuata,  mauve,  came  true 
to  its  name,  bearing  pale-mauve  flowers  in  what 
might  be  called  tiny  boughs  or  branches  about  a 
foot  from  the  ground.  Statice  sinuata  Mauve  proved 
to  be  of  many  lovely  tones  of  pale  mauve,  bluish 
mauve,  and  cream-white.  But,  oh,  the  pale-yel- 
low variety,  S.  sinuata  bonduelli,  again !  In  this 
we  have  almost  a  primrose-yellow  Gypsophila  pa- 
niculata  for  the  making  delicate  of  our  bowls  and 
jars  of  July  flowers.  One  should  see  it  with  sea- 
holly.  On  its  fitness  for  use  with  Gladiolus  primu- 
169 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

linus  hybrids  I  have  already  dwelt;  indeed,  there 
is  hardly  one  flower  whose  beauty  it  might  not 
enhance.  And  then  —  amusing  to  me  who  dislike 
dried  flowers  for  decorative  uses  —  the  texture  of 
all  these  statices  is  like  that  of  tissue-paper. 
Draw  the  finger  lightly  across  their  flower  clusters 
when  in  full  bloom  and  hear  the  soft  rustle  of 
them !  Statice  bonduelli  against  brown-seeding 
gypsophila,  the  single,  with  the  great  orange  lily, 
Lilium  superbum,  is  exceedingly  good  in  effect 
because  of  the  yellow-green  of  the  statice  and  of 
the  lily-buds.  The  decorative  value  of  seeds  ripe, 
but  not  too  ripe,  is  seldom  dwelt  upon,  but  I  can 
assure  the  reader  that  the  three  things  mentioned 
make  together  a  most  lovely  planting  for  early 
August  and  are  equally  beautiful  when  cut. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  set  down  here  a  brief 
account  of  trials  of  some  newer  gladioli,  only  of 
those  which  made  themselves  uncommonly  wel- 
come. In  Display,  mentioned  above  as  a  fine 
neighbor  for  the  rose-colored  poppy,  I  noticed  a 
flower  of  very  beautiful  form  —  a  broad,  well- 
opened  flower  of  most  decided  character  and  good 
looks;  on  its  outer  petals  is  a  suffusion  of  Rose 
begonia  No.  1,  deepening  toward  the  outer  edges 
to  Rose  vieux  No.  2.  The  anthers  bore  a  dis- 
170 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

tinct  lavender  tone,  and  a  fine  cream-white  on 
the  lower  petals  of  the  gladiolus  connected  the 
darker  shades  of  rose  above  and  below  it. 

The  marvellous  Mrs.  Frank  Pendleton  I  also 
saw  a  year  since  for  the  first  time,  and  this  was 
an  experience  apart.  The  flower,  a  broad,  finely 
opened  one  of  white,  carried  petals  all  flushed  to- 
ward the  tips  with  Rose  malvace;  the  markings 
of  lower  petals  were  of  extraordinary  richness  and 
depth  of  color.  In  chart  colors  the  nearest  to 
this  tone  was  Rouge  carombier  No.  4,  but  the 
plate  was  really  neither  dark  nor  velvety  enough. 
Rouge  Andrinople  No.  1  is  the  tone  of  these 
large  oval  markings.  Mrs.  Pendleton  is  a  gladi- 
olus in  a  thousand,  and  its  American  origin  should 
be  a  matter  for  pride  to  all  in  this  country  who 
cherish  their  gardens. 

The  longer  I  garden,  the  more  deeply  do  I  prize 
all  flowers  in  tones  of  violet  or  deep,  rich  purple. 
We  need  more  such  as  foils  for  paler  colors,  yes, 
and  for  richer  too.  The  Buddleia  is  a  garden 
godsend  and,  pleasant  to  record,  is  rapidly  becom- 
ing better  known.  The  grace  of  its  habit,  the 
charming  lavenders  and  purples  of  its  flowery 
racemes,  not  to  mention  its  gray-green  foliage  and 
its  absolutely  constant  bloom  make  it  already  of 
171 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

value  high  and  wide.  At  the  thought  of  the  vio- 
let gladioli  the  vision  of  those  enchanting  wreaths 
of  lavender  held  out  from  every  Buddleia  plant 
floats  before  my  too  imaginative  eye.  The  illus- 
tration shows  a  group  of  Buddleias  blooming  above 
gladiolus  America,  which  in  its  turn  is  grown  among 
hardy  French  chrysanthemums  partly  for  support 
from  the  latter,  partly  for  succession  of  bloom  in 
the  trial  garden. 

Phcebus,  Nuage,  Abyssine,  Colibri,  and  Satel- 
lite are  the  lavender  or  violet  flowers  I  would  now 
name.  The  first,  possessed  of  long,  narrow  petals, 
whose  general  tone  is  of  Violet  de  campanule  No. 
2,  has  markings  on  the  inferior  petals  of  Violet 
vineux  No.  3.  These  markings  are  long,  pointed 
blotches  terminating  in  spaces  of  tenderest  creamy 
yellow;  the  whole  a  very  handsome  flower  of  the 
hooded  type.  In  Nuage  the  throat  markings  are 
of  Violet  rougeatre  No.  4,  turning  below  to  Violet 
petunia  No.  3 ;  the  petals  are  of  a  grayish  lavender, 
Violet  franc  No.  1.  Abyssine  is  a  small  gladiolus 
whose  general  tone  is  Violet  prune  No.  4 ;  a  flower 
one  would  not  be  without,  so  velvet-soft,  so  won- 
derful in  color.  Baron  Hulot  has  long  been  indis- 
pensable to  us  all;  Abyssine  ranks  with  Baron 
Hulot. 

172 


BUDDLEIA 


VARIABILIS  MAGNIFICA,  WHITE   ZINNIA   BELOW 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

Colibri  is  a  flower  of  many  lovely  tones  of 
mauve  and  violet,  not  large  but  in  color  unique. 
On  its  three  inner  petals  are  narrow  central  mark- 
ings of  yellowish  cream.  The  dark  edges  of  the 
petals  are  of  Violet  pourpre  No.  1 ;  a  lighter  tone 
is  seen  toward  the  centre,  though  all  is  so  veined 
and  touched  with  mauve  and  violet  as  to  be 
difficult  to  describe. 

Satellite  is  the  last  of  this  dark-hued  list.  Here 
the  general  tone  is  Violet  prune  No.  4  relieved  by 
tones  of  Amarante  in  all  its  shades  in  the  chart. 
Two  perfectly  rounded  lower  petals  of  Violet  pen- 
see  No.  4  give  an  astonishing  beauty  to  the  flower. 
In  my  notes  concerning  it  I  find  this  entry:  "No 
gladiolus  to  compare  with  this,"  coupled  with  an 
admonition  to  myself  to  grow  it  with  delphinium 
Mrs.  J.  S.  Brunton,  or,  for  a  richer  effect,  among 
or  beyond  the  tall  phlox  Goliath.  For  those  who 
would  know  accurately  the  color  of  the  delphin- 
ium just  mentioned,  I  may  add  that  the  first  two 
shades  of  Bleu  de  cobalte  factice  exactly  represent 
its  petal  colors,  while  its  eye  is  white  tinged  with 
canary-yellow  and  palest  lavender. 

Yet  another  gladiolus,  the  last;  and  this  is  of 
those  lasts  which  shall  be  firsts,  for  it  is  a  giant 
in  size  of  flower  and  height  of  stem  —  a  superb 
173 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

addition  to  the  ranks  of  gladioli.  London  is  its 
imposing  name.  In  color  almost  the  counterpart 
of  America,  its  cool  pink  eminently  fits  it  for  use 
with  the  beautiful  lavender  gladiolus  Badenia. 
The  flowers  of  the  two  are  of  almost  equal  size, 
measuring  four  inches  on  each  side  of  the  triangle 
made  by  the  petals;  and  they  are  quite  ravishing 
together.  Badenia,  the  purple  verbena  Dolores, 
and  that  charming  hardy  phlox  Braga  used  to- 
gether in  a  garden  should  make  a  most  happy 
color  arrangement.  Gladiolus  Satellite,  too,  is 
exceedingly  good  with  phlox  Goliath. 

I  spoke  just  now  of  verbena  Dolores.  To  be 
explicit  as  to  its  color,  it  has  over  its  fine  trusses 
or  panicles  of  bloom  the  darker  shades  of  Bleu 
d' aniline,  but  the  flower  is  much  darker  than  No. 
4  of  this  shade,  and  has  that  velvety  texture  which 
gives  the  dark  verbenas  a  richness  possessed  only 
by  the  darkest  snapdragons. 

In  the  trial  garden  a  few  new  hardy  phloxes  as- 
serted themselves  last  year:  two  or  three  dozen 
planted  in  the  spring  of  the  year  before  rose  in 
their  might  the  second  season  and  sent  forth  glo- 
rious trusses  of  flowers  to  proclaim  their  presence. 
A  first  cousin  in  color  to  the  lovely  Elizabeth 
Campbell,  and  very  beautiful  with  it,  is  Rhyn- 
174 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

strom,  a  recent  acquaintance.  Rhynstrom  has  a 
wonderfully  large  floweret  of  a  delicious  pink;  per- 
fect it  is  before  phlox  Pantheon,  as  it  is  dwarf 
and  of  a  tone  of  rose  to  positively  accentuate  the 
loveliness  of  the  taller  of  the  two.  Baron  von 
Dedem  has  decidedly  the  most  dazzling  hue  of 
all  phloxes.  Its  opening  flowers  are  nearly  if  not 
quite  as  brilliant  as  Coquelicot  in  full  bloom,  and 
the  expanse  of  its  great  blossoms  makes  it  in  the 
garden  a  far  more  telling  phlox  than  the  latter. 
Widar  and  Braga,  two  beauties  in  themselves,  lend 
themselves  well  to  use  as  foregrounds  for  the  taller 
lavender  phloxes  E.  Danzanvilliers  and  Antonin 
Mercie,  again  needing  to  complete  the  picture 
that  good  verbena  Dolores.  Phlox  Braga  is  en- 
trancing with  ageratum  Stella  Gurney  and  with 
the  same  humble  but  most  useful  annual,  Widar, 
discreetly  used,  may  afford  an  effect  as  subtle  as 
it  is  lovely. 

The  recent  vogue  of  lavender  in  all  sorts  of 
feminine  accessories  is  known  to  us  all.  There  is 
in  this  hue  a  certain  refinement,  a  charm,  which 
makes  it  a  special  favorite  for  the  woman  no 
longer  young.  Can  it  be,  I  wonder,  that  the  sug- 
gestion is  taken  unconsciously  from  Nature's  own 
use  of  the  tone  in  the  waning  of  summer,  from 
175 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

those  flowers  which  embroider  the  roadsides  with 
lavender-purple  in  September  —  aster,  ironweed, 
the  tall  liatris?  Be  this  or  not  a  foolish  fancy, 
there  is  no  flower  of  more  value  and  of  greater 
beauty  in  the  September  garden  than  the  Bud- 
dleia.  It  is  at  every  stage  of  growth  most  lovely, 
and  in  its  fulness  of  bloom  a  thing  to  marvel  at. 
For  an  autumn  picture,  set  the  variety  known  as 
Magnifica  back  of  phlox  Antonin  Mercie  (in  its 
second  bloom,  all  first  flowers  having  been  cut 
immediately  upon  passing),  with  masses  of  green- 
white  zinnias  also  in  the  foreground.  Phlox 
Jeanne  d'Arc,  the  tall  late  white,  creates  a  beau- 
tiful background  for  these  Buddleias,  the  graceful 
lavender  plumes  of  the  latter  very  delicate  against 
the  round  white  mounds  of  the  phlox  trusses. 
Mr.  E.  H.  Wilson,  an  authority  upon  Buddleias 
as  well  as  upon  all  other  Chinese  plants,  shrubs, 
and  trees,  suggests  the  planting  of  Sorbaria  arborea 
and  its  varieties  by  the  brook  or  pond  side  in  com- 
bination with  Buddleia.  "The  effect  is  every- 
thing the  most  fastidious  could  wish  for." 

Also  in  mid-September,  a  great  group  of  flow- 
ers then  in  perfection  in  the  trial  garden  gave  ex- 
cellent suggestion  for  a  planned  planting.     This, 
altogether  a  happening  in  arrangement,  was  seen 
176 


MIDSUMMER    POMPS 

against  a  trellis  covered  with  leaves  of  the  vine. 
Close  against  the  green  stood  in  slender  dignity 
a  group  of  blooming  Helianthus  orgyalis,  Miss 
Mellish,  ten  feet  tall,  its  blooms  of  clear  yellow 
shining  against  the  upper  blue.  Below  the  Helian- 
thus, Sutton's  Dwarf  Primrose  sunflower  raised 
its  pale-yellow  heads  with  dark-brown  centres, 
the  yellow-green  leaves  forming  a  spreading  back- 
ground for  tall  white  zinnias  arrayed  in  groups 
below.  The  semi-dwarf  lavender  phlox  Antonin 
Mercie,  with  fragrant  creamy-white  Acidanthera  bi- 
color  before  it,  made  the  foreground  of  this  picture, 
and  those  who  would  have  tones  in  flowers  ranging 
from  pure  chrome-yellow  through  primrose  to  lav- 
ender and  cream-white  will  do  well  to  plan  this 
simply  made  and  satisfying  group.  Introduce  a 
few  hardy  asters  such  as  James  Ganly,  with  a  bit 
of  low-growing  verbena  Dolores  in  the  extreme 
foreground,  and  a  delicacy  of  form  and  a  rich 
color  accent,  too,  are  at  once  added  to  such  a 
scheme  as  this. 

To  return  to  midsummer  flowers  —  three  brief 
suggestions  and  I  have  done.  A  rich  royal-purple 
Antirrhinum,  Purple  King  by  name,  was  excellent 
when  cut,  with  Statice  bonduelli;  the  new  giants 
of  double  zinnias,  rose-colored  ones  only,  were 
177 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

permitted  to  show  their  stout  heads  among  the 
early-flowering  white  cosmos,  the  dwarf  variety; 
and  more  lovely  even  than  these  was  the  picture 
before  touched  upon  of  pearly-white  platycodon 
with  fluffy  heads  of  the  double  rose-pink  poppy 
encompassing  it  about.  These  arrangements  may 
strike  the  expert  flower  gardener  as  too  common- 
place to  be  entertained.  I  offer  them  as  points 
of  departure  and  already  think  with  satisfaction 
of  the  loveliness  that  may  spring  from  them  in 
better  hands  than  mine. 


178 


XIII 
GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 


"Mary,  my  dear,  I  am  very  particular  about  my  baskets. 
If  ever  I  lend  you  my  diamonds  and  you  lose  them  I  may 
forgive  you  —  I  shall  know  that  was  an  accident;  but  if  I 
lend  you  a  basket  and  you  don't  return  it,  don't  look  me 
in  the  face  again."  —  "Mary's  Meadow,"  J.  H.  EWINQ. 


XIII 
GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 

AS  the  pen  to  the  writer,  as  the  brush  to  the 
•**•  painter,  so  the  trowel  to  the  gardener!  This 
implement  must  be  right  —  must  be,  to  its  user, 
perfect.  The  trowel,  for  my  own  hand,  is  an 
English  one  bought  long  ago  in  London  and 
whose  like  I  have  never  seen  for  sale  in  this  coun- 
try. It  formed  a  part  of  the  furnishing  of  the 
Vickery  Garden  Basket  shown  in  the  illustration, 
and  is  a  small,  slender  tool.  It  may  be  that  every 
gardener  is  ready  to  declare  that  he  or  she  has  the 
perfect  trowel.  Be  this  as  it  is,  mine  has  stood 
me  in  good  stead  for  nearly  fifteen  years,  bright 
all  that  time  with  use.  Its  dimensions  are  a  bit 
unusual.  The  length  of  the  trowel  is  over  all 
thirteen  inches,  of  the  blade  six  and  three-quar- 
ters. This  blade  is  unusually  narrow,  only  two 
inches  from  edge  to  edge  of  curving  blade.  Handle 
and  blade  are  set  at  a  slight  angle  to  each  other 
and  excellent  leverage  thus  secured. 

My    trowel    dwells   resplendent   in    a   pigskin 
181 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

sheath.  No  player  of  the  violin,  after  finishing 
with  his  instrument,  ever  unscrews  his  bow  or 
covers  the  violin  itself  with  more  care  than  that 
with  which  I  wipe  my  trowel  and  replace  it  in 
its  leathern  home.  So  necessary  has  my  trowel 
become  to  me  that  I  am  even  now  lending  it  as 
a  model  to  a  manufacturer  of  tools;  and  my  hope 
is  that  trowels  of  this  type  may  soon  find  their 
way  into  the  hands  of  all  those  who  feel  with 
me  that  without  perfection  here  the  work  must 
languish. 

The  Vickery  Garden  Basket,  mentioned  above, 
is  as  convenient  as  such  a  thing  may  be.  Fitted 
garden  baskets,  however,  are  apt  to  be  unsuited 
to  individual  needs.  Either  they  contain  articles 
useless  to  their  owner  or  they  lack  the  things  he 
cannot  do  without. 

Twelve  or  thirteen  dollars,  according  to  a  writer 
in  "The  Garden  Magazine,"  will  supply  the  ama- 
teur with  all  tools  absolutely  necessary  for  his 
garden;  and  this  is  based  upon  the  use  of  the 
best  in  tools,  not  the  cheapest.  The  bill  becomes 
higher  when  one  begins  to  add  to  these  necessaries 
little  expediters  and  simplifiers  of  garden  work; 
but  if  such  additions  are  made  only  occasionally 
the  financial  strain  cannot  be  severely  felt.  Thus, 
182 


GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 

for  instance,  wall  nails  with  the  short,  sharp  point 
and  the  lead  arm  so  easily  bent  are  wonderful 
first  aids  for  the  putting  up  of  ramblers  or  of  such 
creepers  as  Euonymus  radicans,  which  seldom 
seems  inclined  to  take  hold  of  a  wall  of  its  own 
motion.  There  is  the  fascinating  tool  known  as 
"cueille-fleurs"  which  a  dear  traveller  once  brought 
to  me  from  France,  and  which  is,  I  think,  now  ob- 
tainable in  this  country.  A  rod  about  a  yard  in 
length  has  at  its  farther  end  small  scissors  which 
cut  and  hold  a  flower,  and  these  are  opened  and 
closed  by  a  small  arrangement  in  the  handle  of 
the  rod.  Designed  for  reaching  into  a  wide  border 
or  up  above  one's  head,  this  is  a  useful  addition 
to  gardening  aids.  Raffia  tape  on  a  spool,  with 
a  hook  which  may  be  caught  in  a  belt  or  button- 
hole, is  something  which  it  is  delightful  to  find 
at  one's  hand,  and  verbena  pins  of  galvanized 
wire  are  resources  which  one  appreciates  as  ver- 
benas commence  to  throw  about  their  branching 
stems  in  June.  A  small  steel  finger-cover  I  have 
often  used  for  light  cultivation  around  small 
lesser  plants;  and  in  our  gardening  those  stout 
paper  bags  in  which  the  Dutch  bulbs  come  are 
never  thrown  out,  but  kept  for  bulbs  of  gladioli 
which  must  be  sorted  into  their  varieties  at  the 
183 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

very  time  when  spring-flowering  bulbs  go  into  the 
ground. 

Those  three-piece  sets  of  garden  tools  —  rake, 
hoe,  and  spade  —  known  as  ladies'  sizes  are  not 
only  constantly  in  my  own  hand,  but  are  evidently 
regarded  with  some  favor  by  those  members  of 
the  sterner  sex  whose  business  it  is  to  keep  the 
garden  trim.  These  tools  have  small  heads,  but 
handles  of  the  regulation  length,  and  far  be  it  from 
me  to  find  fault  if  the  little  neatnesses  of  the  gar- 
den can  be  best  maintained  by  the  use  of  these 
ladies'  sizes. 

Without  the  Capitol  Lawn  Edger,  a  marvel  of 
a  little  six-inch  lawn-mower  going  rapidly  about 
on  one  wheel,  we  could  not  garden.  "The  tyr- 
anny of  the  grass  edge,"  as  Miss  Jekyll  calls  it, 
loses  some  of  its  severity  when  this  small  edger 
is  at  hand.  Only  one  going  over  of  an  edge  with 
scissors  is  ever  necessary  after  these  little  knives, 
carried  along  by  their  one  little  wheel,  have 
shaved  the  turf  finely  and  evenly  at  the  edge  of 
walk  or  bed. 

In  labels  an  ingenious  thing  from  England  has 
lately  presented  itself.  This  is  shown  in  the 
illustration  of  the  Vickery  Garden  Basket,  ris- 
ing from  one  edge  of  the  basket.  It  consists  of 
184 


GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 

a  stout  wire  so  bent  as  to  hold  the  somewhat 
shield-shaped  wooden  name-piece  which  swings 
from  it.  The  label  has  these  advantages  over  the 
average  slender  wooden  ones  which  are  thrust 
into  the  ground,  that  it  is  far  enough  above  the 
earth  to  be  kept  clean,  that  one  does  not  have 
to  bend  so  low  to  read  it,  and  that  it  is  really 
more  readily  seen  than  the  accustomed  type.  At 
a  recent  convention  of  florists'  societies,  accom- 
panied by  a  show  of  flowers  growing,  the  labels 
used  were  very  favorably  mentioned.  Painted 
grass-green,  they  were  lettered  in  white,  and,  while 
names  were  particularly  clear,  the  labels  them- 
selves were  exceedingly  unobtrusive.  Not  that 
the  flower  enthusiast  ever  objects  to  the  presence 
of  labels;  no,  it  is  too  often  their  absence  which 
he  has  to  deplore.  Half  the  pleasure  in  a  fine 
garden  lies  in  an  acquaintance  with  the  correct 
names  of  its  plant  inhabitants.  To  be  sure,  these 
labels,  as  Mr.  Bowles  somewhere  plaintively  re- 
marks, at  times  become  tombstones.  Even  then, 
how  much  better  to  have  loved,  learned  the  name, 
and  lost  than  never  to  have  loved  at  all. 

Two  sets  of  the  widely  used  Munstead  baskets, 
whose  picture  is  shown  herewith,  have  hardly  suf- 
ficed me  during  the  last  twenty  years,  and  these 
185 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

are  now  weakening  under  continuous  use.  In 
these  sets  or  nests  there  are  three  baskets  —  or 
really  one  might  call  them  willow  trays  with 
handles  —  and  better  gathering  baskets  for  flowers 
I  never  hope  to  find.  They  carry  the  name  of 
Miss  JekylTs  place  and  were  designed  by  her. 
The  sweet-pea  basket  shown  is  somewhat  on  the 
order  of  the  Munstead  basket,  but  the  handle  is 
higher  and  the  pointed  steel  rod,  by  means  of 
which  the  whole  may  stand  upright  in  the  ground, 
is  the  addition  which  makes  this  of  peculiar  use. 
A  sweet-pea  basket  it  is  called,  and  I  can  testify 
heartily  to  its  garden  value.  Two  bowl-shaped 
baskets  of  split  bamboo  have  been  my  compan- 
ions in  the  garden  for  many  years,  light,  capacious, 
convenient,  and  very  beautiful  to  send  about  the 
neighborhood  filled  with  flowers.  Especially  do  I 
recall  their  lovely  appearance  when  holding  Clarkia 
of  that  most  charming  type  known  as  Sutton's 
Salmon  Queen.  These  bamboo  bowls  are  Japa- 
nese. From  Japan,  too,  come  the  small  brown 
baskets  (of  which  we  have  no  picture)  with  arching 
handles  entirely  made  of  twigs  woven  roughly  to- 
gether; little  boat-shaped  things  these,  and  when 
filled  in  April  with  crocus,  scilla,  and  Iris  reticu- 
lata,  they  are  like  entrancing  bits  of  woodland 
186 


THE 


TROWEL,   THE  LABEL,   AND   VARIOUS  BASKETS 


GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 

brought  within  doors.  From  some  Chinese  mis- 
sion station  came  the  nest  of  bucket-shaped  bas- 
kets woven  of  coarsely  split  strips  of  an  unfamiliar 
wood  and  stained  dark  brown.  These  are,  I 
understand,  beyond  our  getting  now;  I  shall, 
therefore,  not  describe  them  further  than  to  say 
that  their  shape  and  lightness  have  combined  to 
make  them  indispensable.  And  last,  the  little 
straw  plates  woven  in  North  Carolina  of  a  native 
grass  are  most  desirable  additions  to  garden  fur- 
nishings, light,  convenient,  perfect  for  a  few  apples 
or  clusters  of  grapes,  and  precisely  what  is  needed 
when  seedlings  are  to  be  transplanted,  their  tray- 
like  proportions  fitting  them  specially  for  carrying 
such  objects  as  must  all  be  seen  at  once. 

A  clever  little  garden  accessory  has  lately  come 
to  hand.  This  is  called  the  Crossroads  Bulb 
Planter.  It  is  a  light,  round,  wooden  stake  of 
some  thirteen  inches  in  length.  The  lower  part 
of  the  stake  is  divided  by  lines  burnt  in  the  wood, 
lines  to  show  the  depths  at  which  should  be  planted 
the  narcissus,  hyacinth,  tulip,  scilla,  crocus,  and 
anemone. 

While  I  know  little  as  to  garden-pest  remedies 
beyond  the  universal  ones  common  to  all  gardeners, 
the  blight  which  has  affected  hardy  phlox  within 
187 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  last  few  years  has  really  affected  my  spirits 
too.  Nothing  is  a  greater  menace  to  August 
beauty  in  our  gardens.  It  is  therefore  with  par- 
ticular pleasure  that  I  mention  two  kinds  of  pre- 
vention, one  from  no  less  a  gardener  th^  •  Mr. 
W.  C.  Egan.  Mr.  Egan  advises  the  cutting  off 
of  all  leaves  immediately  upon  their  showing  signs 
of  infection.  These  should  be  burned.  The  plants 
then  are  to  be  sprayed  every  ten  days  with  Bor- 
deaux mixture  until  the  blight  disappears.  The 
other  remedy  suggested  by  a  friend  who  has  tried 
it  is  a  spray  of  X.  L.  All  once  each  week  from 
the  time  the  leaves  of  phlox  appear  above  ground. 
This  is  declared  to  be  highly  effective  and  I  can 
from  my  own  knowledge  of  this  spray  recommend 
it.  In  our  own  garden  practically  nothing  more 
than  this  is  used  for  roses  or  sweet  peas.  It  routs 
the  enemy  quickly  and  completely,  be  he  leaf- 
hopper,  aphis,  or  that  deadly  worm  known  as  the 
rose-slug,  who  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  changes 
a  fine  green  rose-leaf  into  a  white  skeleton. 

So  generally  is  the  camera  becoming  a  garden- 
ing accessory  that  a  few  considerations  of  its  best 
use  may  not  be  amiss.  Garden  photography  pre- 
supposes a  trained  eye  —  an  eye  trained  first  in 
proportion  and  line,  next  in  composition.  Is  it  not 
188 


GARDEN    ACCESSORIES 

true  that  one's  first  decision  in  working  with  a 
camera  whose  area  of  exposed  film  is,  say,  four  or 
five  inches  must  be  this:  Shall  the  picture  be  on 
lines  horizontal  or  lines  perpendicular?  To  take 
the  most  obvious  illustration:  tall  spruces  or  pop- 
lars cry  aloud  for  a  perpendicular  framing  of  line; 
apple-trees,  round  masses  of  shrubbery,  for  the 
horizontal.  So  in  using  the  camera  in  the  formal 
garden  —  a  bit  of  high  wall,  tall  cedars  perhaps 
against  it,  there  is  your  photographic  instruction, 
your  perpendicular  hint  most  evident;  lilies,  fox- 
glove, hollyhocks  in  groups  suggest  the  same  plan, 
while  reaches  of  little  spring  flowers  photographed 
for  detail  always  need  the  horizontal  position  of 
the  plate  or  film,  with,  what  is  to  me  peculiarly 
interesting,  a  high  horizon  line,  well  above  the 
centre  of  the  plate.  Round  masses  of  phloxes, 
Shasta  daisies,  usually  mean  the  horizontal  posi- 
tion likewise.  All  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  subjects  to  be  photographed.  In  getting  pic- 
tures of  whole  gardens,  too,  the  good  photographer 
always  considers  the  general  proportions.  True, 
if  the  height  of  garden  subjects  seems  to  exceed 
the  breadth,  the  perpendicular  position  is  the  only 
one;  if  vice  versa,  the  horizontal.  It  is  not  often 
possible  to  photograph  one's  garden  in  its  entirety, 
189 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  fortunately  so;  for  where  in  the  actual  gar- 
den would  be  our  garden  mysteries,  our  garden 
surprises,  as  we  walk  and  gaze  ? 

A  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  amateur  of  some 
of  these  principles  of  drawing  and  composition  is 
the  first  requirement  for  successful  picture-making 
in  the  garden.  Amateurs  there  are  who  can  do 
full  justice  in  black  and  white  to  their  lovely  gar- 
dens, in  whose  productions  is  suggestion  of  color, 
too,  equally  and  unmistakably  delightful.  Others 
miss  the  whole  spirit  of  the  beauty  before  them 
for  lack  of  knowledge  of  these  simple  basic  prin- 
ciples. Indeed,  I  am  wishing  to  go  a  step  far- 
ther and  say  that  I  believe  we  all  know  gifted 
amateurs  addicted  to  the  camera  who  quite  un- 
consciously make  out  more  beauty  in  their  gar- 
dens and  their  goodly  walks  than  actually  is 
therein.  And  how  legitimate  this  is!  —  the  art 
which  can  so  select  and  transmute  is  in  itself  a 
wonderful  possession. 


190 


XIV 
GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 


"As  midsummer  approaches  the  energies  of  the  gar- 
dener must  be  directed  towards  keeping  the  garden  at  a 
high  level  of  excellence,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by 
unceasing  care  and  attention." 

— "Saturday  in  my  Garden,"  FARTHING. 


XIV 
GARDENING  EXPEDIENTS 

TNGENUITY  can  nowhere  be  better  exercised 
•1  than  in  the  garden  art.  Small  ways  of  im- 
proving, ingenious  methods  of  doing,  often  result 
in  benefit  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  effort  employed.  Let  the  gardener  ever  keep 
his  eye  open  to  all  that  he  sees  going  on  about 
him.  A  valuable  lesson  crops  out  in  a  least  prom- 
ising spot.  The  treatment  of  a  bit  of  turf  before 
the  electric  power-house  in  our  own  town  gave 
me  a  suggestion  of  great  excellence  for  mowing. 
This  grass  was  cut  often  during  spring  and  early 
summer,  and  always  twice  over  whenever  the 
mower  was  used,  first  in  an  easterly  and  westerly 
direction,  next  time  north  and  south;  the  grass 
never  allowed  to  grow  long  enough  to  form  a 
visible  mulch  when  cut,  except  in  midsummer 
when  such  a  mulch  formed  a  protection  from 
burning  suns.  Of  all  this  I  took  careful  note, 
and  our  own  mowing  operations  have  been  car- 
ried on  in  similar  fashion.  Where,  however,  there 
193 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

is  a  larger  expanse  of  grass  to  keep  in  order,  we 
mow  east  and  west  one  day,  and  a  day  or  so  later 
north  and  south;  but  never  under  any  circum- 
stances, in  our  dry  climate,  make  use  of  a  grass- 
catcher. 

When  sudden  clouds  darken  a  hot  June  sky, 
the  gardener  and  I,  taking  plenty  of  twine  or 
raffia,  hurriedly  tie  into  sheaves  the  taller  and 
more  delicate  flower-stems  such  as  delphiniums, 
Canterbury  bells,  pyrethrums,  physostegias,  and 
taller  phloxes,  and  other  especially  precious  things. 
Taller  or  shorter  stakes  are  hastily  driven  in,  and 
this  support  and  close  tying  has  saved  for  us 
many  a  raceme  and  panicle  of  later  bloom.  I 
commend  this  plan  as  excellent,  particularly  if  one's 
Garden  Club  is  expected  on  the  following  day  and 
the  hostess's  heart  sickens  before  the  possible  dev- 
astation by  wind  and  rain. 

Flower  cutting  is  a  subject  by  itself  and  one 
not  frankly  enough  discussed.  It  may  be — it  con- 
stantly is — done  wastef ully,  and  there  is  not  among 
us  a  true  gardener  who  would  willingly  waste  a 
flower.  It  may  be  done  too  sparingly,  and,  to 
my  thinking,  sparing  the  garden  shears  spoils  the 
garden  more  quickly  than  the  proverbial  rod  the 
child.  After  years  of  cutting,  certain  habits  be- 
194 


GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 

come  instinctive,  and  these  I  will  give  as  numbered 
suggestions. 

First:  If  your  cutting  is  done  in  a  formal  gar- 
den, give  a  comprehensive  look  at  the  whole 
before  taking  up  your  basket  and  shears.  If  it  is 
a  question  of  which  matters  more  to  you,  your 
house  or  your  garden,  always  consider  the  garden. 
Notice  where  flowers  are  spindling  up,  where  a 
ragged  spot  exists,  where  bloom  is  so  luxuriant  as 
to  injure  the  effect,  where  the  blessed  require- 
ments of  balance  should  be  looked  after.  In  the 
case  of  overluxuriance  of  bloom,  a  constant  hap- 
pening, the  plant  which  is  advertised  as  being 
"covered  with  flowers"  is  considered  by  discrimi- 
nating gardeners  as  either  a  monstrosity  or  a 
curiosity.  I  have  no  doubt  that  a  painter  of 
gardens  such  as  Mr.  George  Elgood  insists  upon 
cutting  away  a  bit  here,  a  mass  of  color  there, 
before  placing  his  easel  in  final  position  for  the 
painting  of  the  delicious  garden  pictures  for  which 
he  is  renowned.  Wealth  of  bloom !  When  shall 
we  learn  that  this  is  a  phrase  which  seldom  or 
never  leads  to  beauty?  Not  in  quantity  dwell 
the  best  joys  of  gardening  !  The  advantage  in  the 
idea  of  too  many  flowers  lies  in  the  fact  that  here 
we  have  material  for  picture-making  by  skilled 
195 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  judicious  cutting.  Who  does  not  love  to  so 
attenuate  the  rambler  rose  over  the  good  gateway 
by  taking  out  here  and  there  a  cane,  as  to  leave 
it  a  characteristic  climbing  one,  throwing  its 
lovely  garlands  lightly  over  their  support  and  per- 
mitting all  the  beauties  of  stem,  thorn,  leaf,  and 
flower  to  be  clearly  seen  and  gratefully  enjoyed  ? 

Second:  If  cutting  for  your  own  or  another's 
table,  take  your  freshest  and  finest;  if  for  use  in 
a  church,  a  crowded  hall,  or  other  public  place, 
it  has  always  seemed  to  me  true  flower  economy, 
and  perfect  fairness  too,  justice  with  generosity 
to  every  one,  to  cut  such  flowers  as  may  have  but 
a  day  or  two  more  of  life,  and  which  will  be  fresh 
and  effective  for  the  time  in  which  they  must  be 
exposed  to  that  arch-enemy  of  flowers,  close  and 
overheated  air.  My  own  experience  is  that  by 
observing  some  of  these  simplest  rules  a  garden 
is  never  touched  by  the  shears  without  ensuing 
improvement.  Discordant  colors  are  quickly  re- 
moved, combined  in  one's  basket  or  jar  with 
flowers  of  tones  to  quiet  and  enhance  them,  and 
thus  two  are  the  gainers  —  the  garden  and  the 
receiver  of  the  flowery  gift. 

And  now  for  brief  mention  of  a  minor  conve- 
nience of  mine  for  recording  spring  or  fall  orders 
196 


GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 

of  plants  or  bulbs.  Taking  a  strip  of  heavy  manila 
paper  twenty -four  inches  long  and  four  deep,  I 
fold  it  to  open  after  the  manner  of  those  small 
books  of  so-called  "views"  which  one  can  buy 
at  any  watering-place  here  or  abroad,  making  a 
crease  at  every  two  and  three-quarters  inches, 
which  secures  eight  pages  at  once.  On  each  of 
these  pages  I  paste  a  sheet  of  writing-paper  torn 
from  a  small  block  of  about  the  size  of  the  page. 
The  book  then,  with  the  addition  of  a  gummed 
label  for  title  affixed  to  outside  of  upper  cover,  is 
ready  for  use.  The  advantage  of  such  a  trifle  is 
that  by  taking  each  end  of  the  little  note-book  at 
once  and  moving  the  hands  in  opposite  directions, 
the  whole  inner  surface  of  notes  lies  open  at  once 
before  one.  Each  spring  and  fall  I  make  a  fresh 
book  of  this  type.  I  find  it  an  immeasurable  help 
where  time  is  precious.  Now  my  bills  or  invoices 
may  be  left  indoors  instead  of  proving  fluttering 
anxieties  in  the  garden ! 

Of  the  little  kneeling-mat  I  use,  I  would  like  to 
say  one  word.  It  is  an  oblong  mat,  dark  crimson 
in  color,  and  is  made  of  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  two  thicknesses  of  woollen-plush  covering 
from  an  old  "Shaker*'  chair.  This  mat  might 
in  one  way  be  better.  Its  color  might  be  a  bit 
197 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

brighter,  so  that  the  small  convenience  should  be 
more  easily  discernible  on  the  grass  before  a  border, 
or  between  the  beds  of  a  garden.  I  would  suggest 
a  bright  blue  or  a  yellow.  Aside  from  this,  the 
little  arrangement  is  very  perfect  for  its  purpose. 
Soft,  thick,  and  light,  it  is  the  faithful  compan- 
ion for  all  seasons  when  planting,  transplanting,  or 
cultivating  is  the  order  of  the  day. 

For  carrying  flowers,  if  baskets  happen  to  be 
less  conveniently  at  hand  than  usual,  or  where 
it  might  prove  a  burden  to  the  flower-recipient 
to  have  to  return  baskets,  I  often  cut  double 
sheets  of  heavy  wrapping-paper  into  a  roughly 
graceful  shape  of  some  picturesque  arching  basket 
which  is  in  my  memory,  leaving  two  strips  at  top 
for  handle.  These  strips  are  fastened  together 
by  pins  at  their  ends,  the  sides  of  the  papers  are 
joined  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  whole  pressed 
gently  open  from  within,  when  a  practical  and 
satisfactory  receptacle  is  created  for  holding  and 
keeping  cool  the  stems. 

Frosts,  with  us,  are  due  in  early  September. 
Heliotropes  are  apt  to  blacken  then,  Japanese 
anemones  to  receive  that  baptism  of  cold  from 
which  they  do  not  recover.  To  offset  such  di- 
minishings  of  the  garden's  color,  I  keep  hidden 
198 


GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 

away  back  of  some  white  spruces  a  number  of 
pots  of  the  good  geranium  Mrs.  E.  G.  Hill, 
whose  color,  according  to  Ridgway,  is  appropri- 
ately enough  geranium  pink.  These,  when  set 
among  the  foliage  of  plants  which  have  done  their 
duty  by  the  garden,  give  a  look  of  gayety  at  once, 
and  help  enormously  to  prolong  the  feeling  of 
summer  which  with  each  day  becomes  more  dear. 
Miss  Jekyll  it  surely  was  who  first  suggested  this 
expedient,  but  I  cannot  at  the  moment  give 
chapter  and  verse. 

Not  long  ago  a  delightful  defense  of  the  ge- 
ranium appeared  in  "The  Point  of  View"  in 
"Scribner's  Magazine":  "The  truth  of  the  mat- 
ter is,  we  can  none  of  us  get  along  without  the 
geranium.  Or,  if  we  do,  we  all  of  us  suffer  the 
consequences  of  great  empty  crying  holes  in  our 
flower-beds.  We  all  know  how  it  is.  During 
May  and  June  and  part  of  July  our  gardens  exult 
in  crowded  ranks  of  glory  upon  glory.  Most  of 
our  temperamental  flowers  catch  enthusiasm  from 
one  another  and  have  their  fling  all  together. 
The  result  is  intoxicating  while  it  lasts,  but  it  is 
followed  by  a  disheartening  midsummer  slump. 
Suddenly  the  mood  changes,  the  petals  fall,  and 
the  color  and  the  fragrance  are  gone.  As  dull 
199 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  sober  as  they  were  erewhile  brilliant  and  ani- 
mated, our  irises,  peonies,  roses,  foxgloves,  lark- 
spurs, rockets,  present  a  monotonous  sequence  of 
barren  green  leaves  to  our  disappointed  eyes. 
The  hopeful  annuals  are  not  yet  more  than  in 
dubious  promise;  the  phlox  and  dahlias  have 
hardly  set  their  buds.  The  whole  garden  suffers 
eclipse. 

"This  is  precisely  the  geranium's  opportunity, 
and  we  are  as  cruel  as  we  are  stupid  if  we  deny  it 
to  her.  She  would  only  fain  prevent  an  entire 
collapse  and  would  gently  keep  the  garden's  head 
above  water  until  such  time  as  it  feels  like  swim- 
ming again.  She  can  do  this  as  no  one  else  can, 
blooming  brightly  and  quietly  here  and  there 
among  the  discouraged  plants,  keeping  up  general 
appearances,  saving  the  gardener's  self-respect 
when  passing  wayfarers  pause  to  look  over  his 
fence  in  quest  of  the  color  which  they  have  come 
to  expect  of  him." 

Where  shall  we  look  for  a  stock  of  geraniums 
from  which  to  choose  our  colors  and  our  types? 
No  farther  than  to  Maryland,  where  from  White 
Marsh  Mr.  Richard  Vincent  sends  forth  a  list 
of  hundreds  of  beautiful  examples,  single  and 
double,  ivy-leaved,  plants  with  variegated  foliage, 
200 


GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 

seventeen  varieties  of  scented-leaved,  one  so- 
called  Regal  pelargonium,  and  nine  cactus-flowering 
geraniums.  All  this  is  a  most  sumptuous  illus- 
trated list,  a  perfect  treasure-house  for  those  who 
plan  gay  color  for  their  borders.  On  page  8  of 
this  list  is  not  only  a  geranium  shown  of  loveliest 
delicate  pink,  Berthe  de  Presilly  by  name,  but 
immediately  below  this  picture  is  another  with 
a  really  most  happy  use  of  geranium  and  sweet 
alyssum  together.  I  do  not  stand  for  the  copious 
use  of  Scarlet  Bedder,  no,  not  at  all;  but  who 
could  not  find  a  spot  where  Alpha  with  its  lovely 
small  blooms,  not  unlike  a  scarlet  lychnis,  might 
not  be  useful,  or,  near  cream-white  stock,  Baron 
Grubbisch  or  Rosalda  might  not  create  a  picture  ? 
In  the  geranium  lies  an  almost  untouched  field  of 
beautiful  and  practical  resource  for  gardens.  I 
am  perhaps  not  too  rash  in  saying  that  I  believe 
most  of  us  have  not  seen  over  ten  varieties  of 
this  flower.  We  bring  to  any  consideration  of  it 
a  preconceived  idea  of  ugly  misuse.  Why  not  de- 
vote a  small  portion  of  ground  another  season  to 
trials  of  the  geranium  for  uses  of  our  own  devis- 
ing? 

If,    therefore,   the    geranium,  being   a   garden 
standby  and  a  garden  adornment,  may  be  called 
201 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

a  garden  expedient,  as  indeed  it  may,  one  other 
faithful  flower  may  aspire  to  the  like  honor.  The 
zinnia  has  during  these  last  years  of  gardening 
furor  come  into  its  own.  Among  all  the  charm- 
ing things  for  garden  and  for  house  it  holds  high 
place.  If  one  buys,  as  has  before  been  hinted, 
packets  of  seed  of  white  and  flesh-color  only, 
almost  all  the  softer  tones  of  creamy  white  and 
pink,  with  often  wonderfully  arresting  hues  hardly 
describable,  are  forthcoming.  A  flower  of  splen- 
did form  and  substance,  a  flower  of  great  rigidity 
of  stem,  a  flower  of  generous  freedom  of  bloom, 
a  flower  of  the  most  fascinating  decorative  possi- 
bilities, where  would  my  garden  —  my  September 
garden  —  be  without  the  zinnia ! 

As  for  other  planting  expedients,  to  my  think- 
ing, none  are  better  than  that  of  alternate  planting 
in  the  row.  This,  of  course,  is  for  formal  effect. 
Two  periods  of  bloom  are  so  easily  thus  secured 
in  practically  the  same  spot.  My  first  experi- 
ment in  this  matter  was  with  Michaelmas  daisies, 
early  and  late,  as  has  been  told  in  a  former  chap- 
ter; my  next  was  with  a  close-set  row  of  pent- 
stemon  barbatus  coccineus  and  hardy  phlox;  the 
latest  and  most  ambitious  was  with  a  border  of 
spring  flowers  arranged  with  the  idea  of  securing 
202 


GARDENING    EXPEDIENTS 

much  bloom  and  some  beauty  in  a  small  given 
place.  This,  too,  is  fully  described  elsewhere.  A 
note  in  a  recent  number  of  "The  Garden  Maga- 
zine" seemed  to  me  full  of  practical  possibilities. 
It  concerned  a  system  of  "planting-cards,"  and 
I  will  tell  of  these  in  the  contributor's  own  words: 
"I  cut  cards  of  strong  white  pasteboard,  mea- 
suring eight  by  twelve  inches,  and  in  the  middle  of 
the  narrow  side  of  these  I  put  a  loop  of  string  for 
hanging.  The  back  of  the  card  is  left  blank  so 
that  garden  notes  and  memoranda  may  be  writ- 
ten there,  and  on  the  face  of  the  card  I  paste  the 
names  of  the  vegetables  to  be  planted  and  their 
cultural  directions.  These  I  obtain  from  the 
catalogues  of  the  seedsman  from  whom  I  order 
my  seeds.  For  example,  with  'Corn*  I  paste 
first  their  cultural  directions,  then  under  this  the 
names  and  descriptions  of  the  four  varieties  I 
intend  planting,  in  the  order  of  their  earliness  and 
lateness.  By  each  variety  I  make  a  note  in  ink 
of  the  quantity  of  seed  ordered  and  another  note, 
'Plant  every  two  weeks  till  July  15.'  This  is 
done  for  each  kind  of  vegetable  and  toward  the 
right  I  leave  a  margin  of  one  and  one-half  inches 
on  which  to  note  the  dates  of  sowings.  These 
cards  will  not  take  the  place  of  garden  note-books 
203 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

or  of  systematic  garden  records,  but  have  the 
advantage  of  costing  nothing  and  of  being  ever 
ready." 

The  writer  prefaces  this  description  of  what 
seems  a  really  useful,  if  slight,  gardening  expedi- 
ent by  the  remark  that  such  cards  save  much 
time  and  trouble  of  a  fine  spring  morning.  They 
are  ready  to  hand  to  a  man  who  does  garden 
work,  and  form  an  excellent  reminder  for  oneself 
besides.  I  cannot  see  why  such  a  little  card  ar- 
rangement might  not  be  equally  good  for  the 
recording  of  notes  of  flower-seed  sowing  as  well 
as  for  that  of  seeds  of  vegetables. 


204 


XV 

THE    QUESTION    OF    THE 
GARDENER 


The  relation  between  gardener  and  employer  is  not 
an  easy  one,  especially  if  the  employer  is  a  gardener  him- 
self.   There  is  apt  to  be  a  conflict  of  tastes;  and  the  better 
the  gardener  the  more  acute  the  conflict  is  likely  to  be. 
—  "Studies  in  Gardening." 


XV 

THE  QUESTION  OF  THE 
GARDENER 

"~P\O  write  for  me"  —  thus  runs  a  letter  lately 
A-/  from  a  clever  friend  —  "a  manual  entitled, 
'The  Gardener-less  Garden/  telling  how  to  get 
the  most  joy  for  the  least  trouble !  Or  call  it 
'The  Lazy  Gardener,'  —  I  like  to  moon  around 
in  the  garden  and  I  do  not  want  to  meet  the 
man  with  the  hoe  at  every  turn.  Nor  do  I  like 
to  work  very  steadily  myself,  though  I  always 
think  that  I  shall  want  to  next  year. 

"'Oh,  what  is  life  if,  full  of  care, 

We  have  not  time  to  stand  and  stare?'" 

Still,  a  book  on  gardening  in  its  varying  aspects 
could  hardly  omit  mention  of  that  man  who  must 
be  constantly  in  sight  of  those  who  garden,  the 
gardener,  the  paid,  the  earnest,  and  almost  always 
the  friendly,  assistant  in  our  labors  with  flowers. 
That  charming  anonymous  book,  which  appeared 
first  in  the  form  of  letters  to  "The  Times"  (Lon- 
207 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

don),  "Studies  in  Gardening/*  has  a  chapter,  and 
a  capital  one,  which  I  would  commend,  and  it  is 
called  "Behavior  to  Gardeners."  The  few  para- 
graphs I  shall  commit  to  paper  on  the  subject 
will  deal  partly  with  this  matter,  the  employer's 
attitude,  and  partly  with  the  question  of  salary 
or  wages;  in  the  latter  case  taking  the  gardener's 
own  standpoint. 

It  has  often  gone  to  my  heart  as  a  worker 
among  flowers  to  see  the  misunderstandings  which 
all  too  frequently  arise  between  an  American  and 
his  gardener.  And  so  often  this  is  entirely  due 
to  the  difference  in  temperament.  The  average 
gardener,  slow,  careful,  methodical,  cannot  but 
feel  the  heckling  comments  of  his  employer  who 
wants  things  done  in  his  way,  yet  who,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  does  not  know  what  that  way 
is.  The  gardener  must  recognize  and  resent  igno- 
rance, haste,  prejudice,  and  excessive  criticism,  and 
particularly  is  this  hard  to  bear  because  as  a  rule 
the  gardener  loves  his  work,  cherishes  his  plants, 
and,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  does  this  more  faith- 
fully and  thoroughly  than  the  untrained  gardener 
for  whom  he  labors. 

To  take  up  the  other  side,  for  the  employer  it 
should  be  set  down  that  he  may  himself  be  a 
208 


THE    GARDENER 

good  amateur  gardener,  coupling  to  this  an  im- 
aginative ingenuity  which  I  like  to  think  a  char- 
acteristic of  Americans;  and  the  lack  of  imagina- 
tion, the  dumb  devotion  to  traditional  methods 
of  gardening  whose  outward  and  visible  signs  he 
cannot  but  observe  on  each  visit  to  his  garden, 
go  hard  with  him.  It  has  been  my  lot  to  see 
in  several  cases  employer  and  gardener  antag- 
onistic, and  the  best  interest  of  an  estate  lan- 
guishing under  such  conditions.  One  must  be 
friends  with  one's  gardener.  I  venture  to  assert 
that  no  great  degree  of  success  can  be  reached 
with  flowers  unless  such  is  the  happy  case.  Take 
note  of  a  man's  personality,  of  his  temperament, 
when  next  you  have  occasion  to  decide  upon  the 
vital  figure  for  your  garden.  If  the  candidate 
be  not  "simpatico,"  know  that  your  garden  can- 
not with  him  be  carried  happily,  successfully  along. 
That  was  a  refreshing  instance  of  friendship  be- 
tween master  and  man  shown  in  an  anecdote  of 
the  great  London  flower  exhibition,  the  Chelsea 
Show  of  May,  1912,  and  pleasant  it  is  to  repeat 
it  here: 

"What  a  true  aristocrat  is,  was  forcibly  illus- 
trated the  other  day  by  an  incident  concerning 
the  speech  of  Sir  George  Holford,  who  won  the 
209 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

King's  prize  for  orchids  at  the  London  show,  and 
who,  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society's  dinner 
later,  deprecated  the  great  praise  given  him,  say- 
ing that  his  friend  Mr.  Alexander  deserved  most 
of  the  credit.  Mr.  Farquhar  met  him  the  next 
day  and  complimented  him  on  that  portion  of  his 
speech.  Sir  George  said:  'He  is  my  friend;  I 
never  think  of  him  otherwise.'  The  point  of  this 
illustration  lies  in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Alexander  is 
the  baron's  gardener;  but  the  baron  never  thought 
of  referring  to  that  fact  in  his  speech.  He  spoke 
of  him  as  his  friend." 

This,  more  remarkable  where  class  distinctions 
are  rigorously  observed,  has  timely  bearing  upon 
the  relations  of  master  and  man  in  our  country 
too.  But  here  consideration  and  respect  are  not 
always  lacking.  One  of  my  friends,  an  indefati- 
gable worker  on  her  own  place,  with  her  gardener, 
had  spent  the  months  of  August,  September,  and 
October  in  rearranging  much  of  the  tree  and  shrub 
planting  on  her  large  place,  moving  hundreds  of 
coniferous  subjects  in  that  time.  Through  all  the 
arduous  work  —  and  who  does  not  know  the  nerv- 
ous strain  upon  those  who  dig  and  lift,  and  those 
who  watch  with  interest,  while  an  evergreen 
travels  from  one  spot  to  another  ?  —  through  all 
210 


THE    GARDENER 

this  time  the  young  Scotch  gardener's  solicitude 
and  anxious  effort  never  flagged.  The  season 
waxed  late,  weather  remained  fine,  and  the  chat- 
elaine felt  that  there  was  still  time  to  move  other 
trees,  her  mind's  eye  full  of  visions.  But  it  oc- 
curred to  her  that  the  gardener  should  now  be 
given  a  modicum  of  rest  from  his  monotonous 
labor,  that  as  the  fit  reward  of  diligence  the  word 
evergreen  should  not  again  that  season  reach  his 
ear,  and  this  reflection  was  at  once  acted  upon. 
Often,  I  believe,  is  such  consideration  shown  to 
the  men  who  are  our  daily  companions  and  co- 
workers  in  our  gardens  and  without  whom,  where 
large  gardening  operations  are  concerned,  we 
should  be  lost  indeed. 

To  paraphrase  the  Johnsonian  dictum,  much 
may  be  made  of  a  gardener  if  he  be  caught  young. 
The  amateur  who  works  constantly  among  his 
flowers  has  an  ideal  in  his  mind:  a  young,  strong, 
willing  man,  an  intelligent  man,  one  who  shall 
be  quick  not  only  to  carry  out  his  employer's 
wishes  but  to  study  the  tastes  and  doings  of  the 
garden's  owner,  to  learn  to  imitate  them  that  he 
may  do  successfully  in  that  master's  absence.  In 
the  good  professional  gardener  I  have  perhaps 
fancied  that  I  noticed  a  certain  gentleness  of  de- 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

meaner,  caught,  I  like  to  think,  from  the  delicate 
and  care-taking  occupation  in  which  he  is  daily 
engaged.  Surprises,  however,  may  come  at  any 
moment  —  witness  the  reply  of  our  young  Ameri- 
can farmer,  John,  who  gardens  with  zeal  and  ever- 
growing knowledge  and  gives  me  a  service  which 
is  perfection  for  its  place.  John  had  just  returned 
from  a  week's  vacation.  I  was  most  truly  glad 
to  see  him  back,  and  said  so,  adding:  "I  missed 
you  very  much  last  week,  John."  To  my  entire 
confusion,  John,  without  a  trace  of  a  smile,  look- 
ing me  directly  in  the  eye,  said  with  the  simplic- 
ity of  a  child  and  without  the  least  discourtesy: 

"I  bet  you  did,  Mis'  K !" 

Gardeners,  according  to  a  classification  given  me 
by  an  expert,  should  be  divided  into  their  several 
grades  as  follows :  1.  Gardener-superintendent.  2. 
Head  gardener.  3.  Working  gardener.  4.  Coach- 
man gardener.  Whose  respective  executive  duties 
are: 

1.  Has  charge  of  the  whole  estate  and  with  fore- 
men and  assistants  over  the  different  departments 
of  greenhouse,  garden,  farm,  and  so  on. 

2.  Has  charge  of  greenhouses  and  garden  only, 
with  foremen  and  assistant;  does  no  physical  work. 

3.  Does  most  of  the  work  himself  with  laborers 

212 


THE    GARDENER 

and  takes  care  of  small  greenhouse,  kitchen  garden, 
and  lawn. 

4.  Coachman  first,  gardener  at  odd  times. 

While  the  immigration  laws  of  the  United  States 
classify  the  gardener  as  a  personal  body -servant, 
and  his  admission  to  this  country  is  free  from 
restrictions,  in  England  he  is  not  looked  upon  as 
such.  He  is  the  gardener  in  all  senses  of  the  word, 
and  in  no  well-regulated  establishment  would  the 
employer  take  the  liberty  of  gathering  flowers, 
fruit,  or  vegetables  without  the  consent  of  the 
gardener.  Unfortunately,  in  the  United  States 
the  majority  of  gardeners  are  looked  upon  as  in- 
ferior to  the  chauffeur  and  the  cook.  The  Amer- 
ican gardener,  or  rather  the  gardener  employed 
on  American  estates,  in  many  instances  is  the  su- 
perintendent of  the  whole,  including  the  farm  and 
dwelling  or  mansion;  his  salary  in  a  few  cases 
being  equal  to  three  thousand  dollars  per  year, 
with  many  privileges. 

From  the  same  authority  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  the  classification  of  the  gardener  comes  also 
the  following  opinion,  which  I  quote  verbatim: 

"We  are  unfortunate  in  this  country,  not  hav- 
ing botanic  gardens  and  gardens  carried  on  like 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  in  England,  where 
213 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  young  gardener  is  taught  the  thorough,  prac- 
tical work  of  the  gardener  and  goes  through  all 
departments,  even  to  the  menial  work  of  digging, 
attending  to  furnaces,  etc.  In  England  the  gar- 
dener has  to  pay  an  apprenticeship  to  the  head 
gardener  on  some  estates.  After  he  has  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  head,  he  becomes  an  as- 
sistant, then  journeyman,  then  foreman.  So  he 
must  have  at  least  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  thorough 
experience  before  he  becomes  head  gardener.  The 
trouble  with  the  American  gardener  is  that  he  is 
a  specialist  either  in  roses,  carnations,  or  orchid- 
growing,  and  has  not  the  all-around  knowledge 
of  the  European  trained  gardener. 

"You  cannot  get  an  assistant  gardener  in  this 
country  to-day  for  much  less  than  fifty-five  dol- 
lars to  sixty  dollars  per  month  and  board.  I 
mean  an  assistant  in  a  large  garden,  where  they 
specialize  in  fruit-trees,  rose-growing,  carnations, 
orchids,  palms  and  foliage  plants,  and  kitchen 
garden. 

"This,  you  see,  is  far  better  than  some  wages  paid 
to  gardeners.  I  do  not  think  the  average  wages 
paid  to  a  gardener  in  this  country  would  be  equal 
to  one  hundred  dollars  per  month.  In  many  in- 
stances this  is  the  fault  of  the  gardener  himself. 
214 


THE    GARDENER 

Most  places  that  I  know  of  are  where  gardeners 
have  made  themselves  valuable  and  created  the 
place.  I  have  in  mind  at  least  two  instances 
where  gardeners  were  employed  at  sixty  dollars 
per  month  and  are  now  getting  as  high  as  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  month;  this  all 
happening  inside  of  five  years." 

The  question  of  the  gardener's  worth  in  money 
is  surely  to  be  considered  as  an  important  one 
to  both  sides.  A  discussion  of  this  matter  has 
lately  taken  place  with  a  rather  unusual  freedom 
of  speech  in  the  columns  of  one  of  our  best  horti- 
cultural weeklies;  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to 
quote  here  from  some  of  these  arguments.  One 
writer,  himself  taking  the  words  of  a  former  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  be- 
gins thus:  "'In  every  profession  which  uses  a 
man's  highest  powers  and  lays  rigid  demand  on 
his  idealism  and  courage  it  is  always  safe  to  as- 
sume that  up  to  a  certain  point  these  men  can 
be  overworked  and  underpaid,  because  they  are 
much  more  concerned  with  doing  their  work  well 
than  with  being  well  paid  for  it.  But  when  this 
imposition  begins  to  reduce  them  and  their  fami- 
lies to  poverty,  they  do  not,  as  do  workmen  lower 
in  the  scale,  go  on  strikes.  ^They  quietly  resign 
215 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  seek  some  other  occupation.  It  is  a  com- 
monplace among  professions  in  which  idealism 
plays  a  part:  this  idealism  is  deliberately  exploited 
to  the  disadvantage  of  those  of  whom  it  is  exacted/ 
This,  I  think,  meets  the  gardener's  case  exactly, 
and,  so  long  as  conditions  are  as  they  are,  garden- 
ing must  necessarily  be  a  labor  of  love." 

Now  hear  another,  this  time  on  the  practical 
side:  "The  burning  question  seems  to  be  how  to 
get  away  from  the  fifty-dollars-a-month  salary 
limit.  There  is  no  getting  away  from  it  so  long 
as  people  of  wealth  are  willing  to  hire  a  laborer 
who  calls  himself  a  gardener,  at  that  price.  The 
remedy,  to  my  mind,  is  to  start  a  campaign  of 
education  among  the  people  who  are  wealthy 
enough  to  hire  a  real  gardener  and  show  them 
by  facts,  figures,  and  statistics  that  they  are  losing 
money  by  not  doing  so.  A  good  gardener  is  worth 
anywhere  from  one  hundred  dollars  up  —  just  by 
the  same  process  of  reasoning  that  one  would 
employ  in  engaging  a  lawyer  or  doctor. 

"The  larger  the  estate,  the  more  the  responsibil- 
ity. The  larger  the  responsibility,  the  higher  the 
salary.  If  a  good  man  is  squeezed  down  to  taking 
less  than  he  is  worth,  the  greater  the  temptation 
to  make  something  on  the  side.  If  a  poor  man, 
216 


THE    GARDENER 

that  is,  an  ignorant  man  willing  to  take  laborer's 
wages,  is  hired,  then  the  estate  will  suffer  not 
only  in  that,  but  in  many  other  ways.  So  that 
it  is  the  employing  class  that  the  campaign  of 
education  should  be  aimed  at.  It  will  do  no 
good  to  scold  the  seedsman  or  other  allied  inter- 
ests; nor  to  split  the  ceiling  in  gardeners'  meetings 
about  the  villainy  of  those  fifty-dollar  fellows  call- 
ing themselves  gardeners.  One  hundred  dollars 
should  be  the  minimum,  and  two  hundred,  three 
hundred,  five  hundred,  or  even  more  should  not  be 
considered  anything  out  of  the  way  if  the  train- 
ing, experience,  and  native  ability  be  present.  But 
the  employers  have  to  be  educated  up  to  that." 

I  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  with  the  writer 
just  quoted  that  four  and  five  hundred  a  month 
should  be  given  even  to  a  fine  superintendent. 
Proportions  should  be  maintained,  salaries  of  the 
learned  professions  kept  in  mind.  Still,  I  person- 
ally believe  that  one  hundred  dollars  a  month  is 
the  least  that  should  be  offered  by  those  whose 
fortune  fits  them  to  employ  an  excellent  profes- 
sional gardener. 

In  all  these  words,  the  subject  of  the  gardener, 
his  salary  or  wages,  and  his  position,  has  been  only 
begun.  It  is  a  matter  which  with  the  ever-in- 
217 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

creasing  interest  in  gardens  must  and  will  be  more 
and  more  discussed;  and  in  which  the  gardener's 
side  must  be  better  looked  after  by  his  employer 
than  at  present  seems  to  be  the  case.  "And  if 
the  reply  of  an  alarmed  employer  might  be  that 
all  this  means  higher  wages,  our  reply  is,  first,  that 
after  all  it  is  very  little;  and  secondly,  that  the 
garden  must  be  looked  at  in  a  new  perspective, 
not  as  a  tiresome  and  costly  appurtenance  every 
penny  spent  upon  which  is  begrudged,  while  thou- 
sands are  to  be  lavished  on  pictures,  old  china, 
and  motor-cars,  but  as  a  great  influence  on  life." 
There  is  reasoning  here  as  cogent  as  it  is  vig- 
orous; I  fully  agree  with  this  writer,  and  the  more 
so  when  I  think  of  the  disproportionate  use  of 
money  by  those  who  would  keep  down  the  wages 
of  the  men  engaged  for  their  gardens;  for  those 
labors  which  go  to  produce  what  is  becoming 
daily  more  and  more  precious  to  men  and  women 
in  this  age.  Let  us  who  think  seriously  of  these 
things  not  only  learn  to  value  the  services  of  our 
own  gardeners  more  fully,  but  let  us  spread  our 
convictions  upon  the  subject,  and  soon  must  come 
a  better  understanding  and  agreement  between 
employer  and  employed. 


218 


XVI 

NECESSITIES    AND    LUXURIES 
IN   GARDEN   BOOKS 


"What  then  I  say  is  this,  that  we  ignoramuses  who 
know  very  little  about  it  can  derive  a  pure  pleasure,  not 
merely  from  the  contemplation  of  gardens,  but  from  the 
reading  of  books  about  them." 

—  Preface  to  "The  Scots  Gard'ner,"  LORD  ROSEBEBY. 


XVI 

NECESSITIES    AND    LUXURIES 
IN   GARDEN   BOOKS 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES  are  dull  things  —  true,  too, 
of  many  necessities,  and  I  make  no  apology, 
to  those  who  care  for  gardening,  while  dwelling 
for  a  little  on  garden  books.  What  would  winter 
be  without  them?  "Summer,"  as  the  delightful 
David  Grayson  remarks,  "is  for  activities;  winter 
for  reading."  So  it  seems  to  the  true  gardener! 
His  mental  gardening  is  done  while  snow  is  flying, 
leaving  the  physical  to  be  carried  out  as  twigs 
begin  to  bud  and  grass  to  green  again. 

The  very  watchword  of  an  American  gardener's 
winter — the  slogan,  I  might  almost  call  it  —  should 
be,  "Look  it  up  in  Bailey."  As  the  Irish  judge 
remarked,  "I  yield  to  no  one  in  my  ignorance  of 
scientific  horticulture,"  therefore  there  would  be 
no  sense  in  my  trying  to  garden  without  Bailey's 
Encyclopedia  at  my  elbow.  The  six  volumes 
are  indispensable,  filled  with  wonderful  horticul- 
tural learning,  yet  not  too  technical  for  the  begin- 
221 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ner.  Bailey,  too,  is  an  absolutely  American  book, 
published  altogether  for  this  country,  with  cul- 
tural information  for  our  varying  climates  of 
North,  South,  and  West,  containing  marvellously 
fine  articles  by  specialists.  Professor  Sargent 
writes  on  the  genus  Abies;  Mr.  Groff,  of  Ontario, 
on  the  gladiolus;  Doctor  Fernow  on  forestry;  and 
so  on. 

Yes,  in  the  matter  of  books  necessary  to  garden 
knowledge,  Bailey  is  undoubtedly  the  keystone 
of  the  garden  arch.  Every  other  book  may  go  — 
this  cannot.  And,  the  arch  thus  firmly  held  to- 
gether, let  us  proceed  to  decorate  it  appropriately 
by  mentioning  as  our  second  necessary  book 
Miss  Jekyll's  masterpiece,  "Color  in  the  Flower 
Garden."  Given  these  two  publications,  any  in- 
telligent man  or  woman  with  time,  money,  and 
the  wish  need  have  nothing  ugly  in  his  or  her 
gardens.  This  is  rather  narrowing  the  matter 
down,  I  admit,  but  I  feel  strongly  that  these  are 
the  words  of  truth  and  soberness,  and  I  believe 
there  are  many  who  will  concur  in  this  opinion. 
Bailey  furnishes  us  the  sound  knowledge,  the 
structure  for  gardening.  Miss  Jekyll  —  who  bet- 
ter?—  provides  the  structure  with  a  more  ex- 
quisite and  carefully  considered  garnishment  than 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

has  ever  to  my  knowledge  been  given  before  by 
man  or  woman.  With  her  ingratiating  pen,  too, 
she  is  so  happy  in  creating  pictures  that  the  gar- 
den-lover cannot  choose  but  hear  and,  what  is 
more,  follow  in  the  lovely  flowery  path.  Can 
anything  surpass  the  beauty  of  description  of  the 
various  gardens  at  Munstead  Wood  in  the  "Color 
in  the  Flower  Garden,"  or  the  charm  of  the  pho- 
tographic reproductions  used  to  illustrate?  Yet 
there  is  something  here  better  than  beauty;  there 
is  suggestion  which  amounts  to  inspiration  —  Miss 
Jekyll  has  the  faculty  of  setting  all  sorts  of  plans 
going  in  one's  head  as  one  reads  what  she  writes; 
and  I  will  venture  to  say  that  most  of  her  readers 
in  this  country  do  not  attempt  to  copy  slavishly 
her  ideas  but  use  them  as  points  of  departure 
for  their  own  plantings.  Miss  Jekyll  has  suc- 
ceeded not  only  in  so  charmingly  showing  us  what 
she  has  planned  and  accomplished  in  her  Surrey 
garden,  but  in  giving  a  great  impulse  toward  the 
finest  art  of  gardening  —  gardening  as  a  fine  art. 
We  hear  it  said:  "Miss  Jekyll's  books  are  writ- 
ten for  England,  and  the  English  climate  and  con- 
ditions." Yes;  but  here  is  Bailey  to  set  one 
straight  culturally  for  one's  own  spot  in  America; 
and  it  is  truly  surprising  to  notice  the  increasing 
223 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

numbers  of  plants  which  are  perfectly  suited  to 
both  England  and  the  United  States. 

And  here,  since  Miss  JekylTs  name  is  con- 
stantly appearing  and  reappearing  in  current 
gardening  literature  in  this  country,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  say  that  "Color  in  the  Flower 
Garden"  is  one  of  eight  books  from  Miss  Jekyll's 
pen  issued  within  nine  years'  time.  The  others 
are:  "Wood  and  Garden,"  "Home  and  Garden," 
"Wall  and  Water  Gardens,"  "Lilies  for  English 
Gardens,"  "Roses  for  English  Gardens,"  "Flower 
Decoration  in  the  House,"  and  "Children  and 
Gardens."  In  answer  to  questions  on  my  part, 
Miss  Jekyll  quotes  her  publisher  as  saying,  "I 
personally  consider  *  Color  in  the  Flower  Garden* 
is  the  most  valuable  book  yet  got  out,"  and 
Miss  Jekyll  herself  adds:  "I  also  think  *  Color 
in  the  Flower  Garden'  the  most  useful."  Eight 
thousand  copies  of  "House  and  Garden"  have 
been  printed,  and  twelve  thousand  of  "Wood 
and  Garden,"  and  both  books  are  now  to  be 
had  in  a  cheaper  edition  than  the  original 
one. 

Now  and  again  I  am  asked  what  I  consider 
the  best  simple  book  for  beginners  in  gardening. 
What  a  pleasure  to  have  one  to  commend!  It  is 
224 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

"The  Seasons  in  a  Flower  Garden,"  by  Miss 
Louise  Shelton,  of  Morristown,  N.  J.  I  wish  this 
book  had  been  published  twenty  years  ago  —  not 
five.  It  gives  advice  not  only  lucid  and  sound, 
but  always  looking  toward  good  color  arrange- 
ment, the  very  highest  and  finishing  beauty  of 
the  garden.  Here  in  a  small  volume  may  be 
found,  admirably  arranged,  the  first  principles  of 
good  flower  gardening. 

"Success  in  Gardening,"  by  Miss  Jessie  Froth- 
ingham,  of  Princeton,  is  a  book  on  the  order  of 
Miss  Shelton's,  and  like  hers  it  deserves  a  wide 
public.  This,  too,  is  to  be  commended  to  the 
inexperienced.  From  January  to  December  gar- 
den work  is  suggested  week  by  week  and  between 
the  lines  one  sees  much  charming  suggestion,  the 
fruit  of  a  long  and  sound  experience  on  the  part 
of  the  author. 

Mrs.  Sedgwick's  "The  Garden  Month  by 
Month"  is  a  capital  addition  to  our  garden  lit- 
erature. Information  here  is  in  tabulated  form 
—  easy  to  get  at,  so  well  arranged  and  classified 
as  to  give  at  once  facts  as  to  any  plant  or  bulb 
in  general  or  even  occasional  cultivation.  The 
pictures,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  two  here  repro- 
duced, are,  I  believe,  the  most  satisfying  photo- 
225 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

graphs  of  flowers  and  flower  groups  ever  published 
in  this  country.  These  illustrations  in  black  and 
white  —  a  process  as  yet  better  than  any  color- 
printing  we  can  achieve  here  —  are  remarkably 
well  done,  and  present  the  actual  aspect  of  the 
blooming  plant  to  far  greater  advantage  than  any 
collection  of  such  photographs  which  I  can  at  pres- 
ent call  to  mind.  The  beautiful  photograph  (facing 
page  110)  of  BeUis  perennis  and  Narcissus  poeticus 
ornatus  does  more  than  give  a  faithful  representation 
of  the  two  flowers — it  suggests  a  lovely  combina- 
tion for  spring  planting;  and,  in  cut  facing,  notice 
the  perfect  placing  of  Baptisia  australis  on  the  water- 
side, with  budding  delphiniums  beyond  and  sky-blue 
water  to  carry  out  the  lovely  blue-toned  picture. 
(This  planting,  I  am  told  however,  is  not  as  good 
as  I  thought  it,  as  the  color  of  Baptisia  is  too  slaty 
in  its  blue  to  make  a  really  good  effect.) 

Of  the  color  chart  at  the  beginning  of  the  book 
I  cannot  speak  so  highly  since  comparing  it  with 
the  clear  tones  of  the  "Repertoire  de  Couleurs"  of 
the  Chrysanthemum  Society  of  France.  The  at- 
tempt of  Mrs.  Sedgwick  and  her  publishers  in  this 
direction  was  a  laudable  one,  for  here  was  a  real 
need;  but  again,  owing  doubtless  to  the  lack  of 
facilities  for  color-printing,  the  result  is  mediocre 
226 


1  The  Garden  Month  by  Month."     BH  courtesy  of  Frederick  A.  Stoket  Compan 
BAPTISIA    AUSTRALIS 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

only.  I  remember,  when  this  book  appeared,  how 
eagerly  I  wished  for  it  because  of  the  new  and 
valuable  color  chart.  And  it  was  a  disappoint- 
ment to  have  to  fall  back  again  upon  the  French 
publication. 

An  American  color  chart  which  has  been  warmly 
received  by  those  interested  in  this  matter  of 
proper  naming  of  colors  is  Doctor  Robert  Ridg- 
way's  "Color  Standards  and  Color  Nomenclature," 
a  convenient  and  beautifully  arranged  chart,  a 
boon  to  the  lover  of  accurate  color  description  of 
flowers  —  a  rather  costly  book,  too  costly  for  the 
general  pubh'c;  therefore  it  will  be  good  news  to 
many  that  a  small  edition  of  this  chart  is  now 
in  course  of  preparation,  to  be  offered  at  a  mod- 
erate price.  When  this  is  done,  the  first  impor- 
tant step  taken  in  America  toward  this  highly  im- 
portant matter  to  the  American  gardener  will 
have  been  accomplished. 

Among  luxuries  in  garden  books  must  be  set 
down  an  imposing  volume  containing  some  price- 
less suggestions  concerning  color  arrangement  by 
Miss  Margaret  Waterfield,  of  England  —  "Gar- 
den Color."  Here  I  first  learned  of  certain  beau- 
tiful tulips  used  separately  or  in  lovely  combina- 
tions described  in  Miss  Waterfield's  own  chapters 
227 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

in  the  book;  and  on  buying  these  the  results 
were  to  my  eye  precisely  what  they  were  to 
hers  —  a  satisfaction  that  is  nothing  short  of 
enchanting.  Miss  Waterfield's  own  water-color 
sketches,  reproduced  in  her  book  for  purposes  of 
illustration,  are  in  some  cases  valuable  too  to 
the  gardener  who  would  create  pictures  as  he 
gardens.  Her  manner  of  planting  seems  always 
to  me  that  of  an  artist  and  these  drawings  from 
her  hand  confirm  that  impression. 

A  little  volume  of  totally  different  character, 
but  full  of  meat  for  a  reader  interested  in  these 
things,  is  the  recently  published  "Spring  Flow- 
ers at  Belvoir  Castle,"  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Divers, 
head  gardener  to  the  Duke  of  Rutland.  Writ- 
ten in  alarmingly  dull  style,  it  is  still  a  mine  of 
riches  for  the  amateur  who  tries  for  spring  ef- 
fects; for  certain  violas  and  primroses,  aubrietias, 
arabises  do  quite  as  well  in  this  country  as  in 
England,  and,  I  believe,  nearly  all  tulips  and  daf- 
fodils. These  are  the  flowers  most  important  in 
the  plantings  at  Belvoir  Castle  and,  wonderful  to 
relate,  the  color  descriptions  of  individual  flowers 
by  Mr.  Divers  seem  to  be  as  accurate  as  Miss 
JekylPs  own.  This  is  a  remarkable  thing;  but 
just  here  the  remarkableness  of  this  little  book 
228 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

ceases  for  me,  for  the  clear  photographs  with 
which  it  is  thickly  sprinkled  show  the  most  inane 
and  tiresome  arrangement  of  flowers  possible  to 
conceive,  carpet-bedding  gone  mad.  Piteous  to 
see  measured  bands  of  these  delicious  flowers, 
mats  of  aubrietas  studded  with  single  tulip  jewels 
in  geometric  arrangements,  and  one  horror  called 
a  "raised  flower-bed"  in  which  the  same  out-of- 
date  planting  is  practised.  At  Belvoir  Castle,  to 
make  it  worse,  a  rare  chance  is  surely  given  by 
the  great  variety  of  graded  slopes  apparent  in  the 
pictures  for  much  picturesque  informal  planting. 

The  mention  of  daffodils  turns  our  attention 
to  two  small  but  important  books  on  this  most 
fashionable  flower.  England  seems  daffodil-mad 
to-day;  and  as  we  are  far  behind  the  mother 
country  in  "gardening  finely,"  yet  always  looking 
to  her  for  sound  advice,  we  shall  probably  soon 
catch  the  fever.  In  fact,  some  of  us  think  we 
have  symptoms  now. 

The  valuable  book  for  the  daffodilist  is  the 
monograph,  "Daffodils,"  by  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Jacobs,  of  England,  in  that  set  of  books,  "Present 
Day  Gardening."  In  these  pages  all  that  is 
known  concerning  daffodils  up  to  date  is  con- 
densed, set  down  by  a  true  lover  of  the  flower, 
229 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  not  only  a  great  grower  of  the  daffodil,  but 
an  accomplished  writer  and  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject, as  well  as  one  in  constant  demand  as  a  judge 
at  the  English  and  Continental  daffodil  shows. 
No  possessors  of  this  book  need  to  waste  time 
or  money  in  the  purchase  of  a  poor  variety  of 
daffodil,  if  they  consult  Mr.  Jacobs's  chapter, 
"Varieties  for  Garden  Beds  and  Borders."  For 
prices  of  these,  if  one  has  at  hand  Barr  &  Sons'  daf- 
fodil list  (to  be  had  for  the  asking),  which  Mr. 
Jacobs  calls  unique  in  its  position  in  the  daffodil 
world,  there  should  be  no  mistake  made  by  the 
gardener  who  would  make  an  excursion  into  the 
wondrous  world  of  yellow,  cream,  lemon,  and 
orange  flowers.  Perianth  and  trumpet  become 
terms  of  intensest  interest,  and  I  can  testify  from 
a  short  experience  that  once  the  daffodil  catches 
the  attention  of  the  amateur  gardener  he  never 
lets  go.  Indeed,  his  hold  grows  ever  stronger 
with  successive  Mays. 

Two  other  Englishmen,  novelists  of  repute, 
have  given  us  their  gardening  experiences  in  de- 
lightfully written  volumes.  Mr.  Rider  Haggard's 
"A  Gardener's  Year"  makes  charming  reading, 
but  is  a  trifle  orchidaceous  for  one  who,  like  my- 
self, has  not  yet  dared  to  "let  go"  in  that  direc- 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

tion.  Beware  of  orchids  unless  the  purse  is  full. 
Mr.  Eden  Philpotts  brings  all  the  beauty  of  his 
poetic  style  to  bear  upon  the  subject  of  "My 
Garden,"  thus  deliciously  prefacing  his  book: 
"The  time  has  come  when,  to  have  a  garden,  and 
not  to  write  about  it,  is  to  be  notorious."  Let 
me  commend  the  three  chapters  on  the  iris  in  this 
fascinating  book  to  the  attention  of  all  iris-lovers. 
There  never  has  been,  there  never  can  come  from 
another  pen,  so  poetic,  so  beautiful  a  bit  of  writing 
on  this  alluring  flower.  Done  in  entrancing  lan- 
guage, it  tempts  the  most  unyielding  to  become 
an  iris-collector.  I  myself,  on  reading  these  de- 
scriptions, felt  so  deep  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Mr. 
Philpotts  for  them,  and  for  the  pleasure  which 
for  years  back  had  been  given  me  by  his  Dev- 
onshire tales,  that  I  experienced  a  real  delight 
when  the  following  request  caught  my  eye: 
"Many  new  and  exquisite  vines  may  now  be  ob- 
tained, and  among  lovely  things  that  I  am  open 
to  receive  from  anybody  (and  will  pay  carriage) 
are  Vitis  Thunbergii;  Vitis  Calif ornica,  a  tremen- 
dous grower;  Vitis  aconitifolia,  a  gem  from  China; 
and  Vitis  megaphylla,  most  distinct  of  all  arrivals 
in  this  family." 

My  heart  leaped  with  joy  as  I  thought:  "Is  it 
231 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

possible  that  I,  even  I,  may  contribute  to  Mr. 
Philpotts's  garden?"  Promptly  flew  out  my  let- 
ters to  Massachusetts,  to  Texas,  in  quest  of  the 
grapes.  Answers  showed  that  at  least  one  of 
them  could  be  mine  for  the  asking  and  a  little 
besides;  but  before  I  had  actually  ordered  the 
plant,  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  I  happened 
upon  the  following  passage  in  "My  Garden,"  un- 
seen heretofore:  "Green  corn  is  a  pleasant  vege- 
table, and  I  surprise  Americans  who  come  to  see 
me,  by  giving  them  that  familiar  dish.  Let  them 
have  but  that  and  ice,  and  a  squash  pie,  and  they 
ask  no  more,  but  to  be  allowed  to  talk  about 
themselves  and  their  noble  country."  Needless  to 
say  that,  in  so  far  as  I  can  achieve  it,  Mr.  Eden 
Philpotts  has  gone,  goes,  and  shall  go  grapeless. 

Facilities  for  procuring  new  varieties  of  flower- 
ing plants,  new  colors,  in  this  country  are  notice- 
ably improving.  Witness  each  fresh  issue  of 
American  seed  and  bulb  lists.  One  firm  in  this 
country  offered  last  spring  for  the  first  time,  as 
far  as  my  experience  goes,  roots  of  Cantab,  the 
lovely  blue  delphinium  which  Miss  Jekyll  con- 
siders the  best  of  all  blues,  and  which  has  been 
difficult  to  find  in  any  list,  English  or  American. 
Another  has  a  separate  list  of  rare  and  charming 
232 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

(alas,  I  must  also  add  high-priced!)  things;  such 
published  straws  show  the  direction  of  the  horti- 
cultural breeze.  May  this  breeze  become  a  wind 
strong  enough  to  bear  to  us  interested  in  the  best 
development  of  gardening  in  America  books  by 
our  own  amateurs  so  delightfully  and  intelligently 
written  that  what  is  there  set  down  shall  help  the 
matter  with  every  page. 

To  return  again  to  catalogues  for  a  moment  — 
two  or  three  American  lists  show  great  care  and 
constant  improvement  in  this  direction,  but  none 
as  yet,  I  believe,  quite  approach  those  of  R. 
Wallace  and  Sons,  of  Colchester,  England;  of 
Barr  &  Sons;  of  T.  Smith,  of  Newry,  Ireland. 
Smith's  list  of  spring-blooming  plants  and  al- 
pines  is  of  immense  value  to  all  as  a  little  refer- 
ence-book, complete  botanically  and  with  admi- 
rable descriptions  of  color. 

Misleading  pictures  appear  to  this  day  in  some 
of  our  seed-lists  —  the  beribboned  curving  drive 
through  an  estate;  the  copious  and  vicious  use  of 
some  of  the  early  tulips  such  as  Keizerkroon  (whose 
publicly  declared  enemy  I  am  and  shall  be  until 
it  is  better  used);  the  round  bed  which,  as  an 
agreeable  man  of  my  acquaintance  says,  "used  to 
bust  up  the  front  lawn."  All  these  things  are  still 
233 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

forced  upon  the  innocent  and  ignorant  and  much 
do  I  wish  that  a  seed  and  bulb  list  might  be  given 
us  in  which  there  should  not  be  a  single  actual 
error  of  taste  in  suggestion,  even  though  that 
taste  could  not  meet  the  wishes  of  all  readers. 

Under  luxuries  in  garden  books  falls  a  group 
whose  contents  are  an  addition  to  letters  as  well 
as  to  gardening.  How  rare  and  choice  these  are, 
and  what  a  pity  that  all  books  on  so  beautiful  a 
topic  cannot  be  beautiful  in  themselves,  I  mean 
in  their  manner  of  writing!  When  such  do  fall 
in  our  way  we  have  very  real  reason  for  thanks- 
giving, and  first  in  my  own  affections  always  stand 
the  writings  of  the  Honorable  Mrs.  Boyle,  "E. 
V.  B."  —  those  books 

"whose  names 
Are  five  sweet  symphonies"  — 

"A  Garden  of  Pleasure,"  "The  Peacock's  Pleas- 
aunce,"  "Sylvana's  Letters  to  an  Unknown 
Friend,"  "Seven  Gardens  and  a  Palace" — prose 
as  beautiful  as  any  poetry,  wandering  on  over 
page  after  page,  all  on  the  delectable  matter  of 
flowers;  and  in  A.  F.  Sieveking's  book  a  "Proem" 
from  the  same  golden  pen,  which  for  charm  and 
grace  exceeds  all  that  I  have  ever  read  on  gar- 
dening. It  is  my  fixed  belief  that  the  more  we 
•M 


GARDEN   BOOKS 

read  books  of  this  high  quality  the  more  beauti- 
fully shall  we  garden. 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  books  of  the  kind 
and  type  of  Miss  Water-field's  —  the  two  or  three 
others  which  come  to  mind  are  Elgood's  and  Miss 
Jekyll's  "Some  English  Gardens";  Sir  Herbert 
Maxwell's  "Scottish  Gardens";  "Houses  and 
Gardens,"  by  Baillie-Scott.  To  read  these  books, 
to  study  their  most  charming  pictures,  is  not 
only  to  revel  in  their  own  beauty,  but  to  be  well 
started  on  the  way  to  achieving  one's  own.  Every 
illustration  in  "Some  English  Gardens"  gives 
practical  suggestion  of  a  principle  of  beauty,  and 
with  the  illuminating  text  the  several  lessons  are 
complete.  I  would  rename  this  book,  and  "Per- 
fect Gardens"  is  the  daring  title  I  should  bestow 
upon  it. 

For  books  whose  color  illustrations  are  worth 
possessing,  books  on  flowers  of  other  lands  than 
England,  the  lovely  volume  by  the  Du  Cane  sis- 
ters is  always  good  to  open  —  "Flowers  and  Gar- 
dens of  Japan."  Full  of  charm,  too,  are  Flem- 
well's  "Alpine  Flowers  and  Gardens,"  and  "The 
Flower  Fields  of  Alpine  Switzerland,"  with  pic- 
tures finely  reproduced  from  beautiful  originals. 
"Dutch  Bulbs  and  Gardens,"  by  Nixon,  Silberrad, 
235 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

and  Lyall,  is  a  book  full  of  character  and  beauty 
and  of  special  interest  to  the  spring  gardener. 

Of  finer  books  for  those  interested  in  garden 
design  are  Mr.  Guy  Lowell's  "American  Gardens" 
and  T.  W.  Mawson's  "The  Art  and  Craft  of 
Garden-Making.'*  Two  volumes  of  less  size  but 
of  much  value  are  Reginald  Blomfield's  "The 
Formal  Garden  in  England"  (whose  brilliant  first 
chapter  refuting  some  of  the  Robinsonian  doc- 
trines is  greatly  to  my  liking !)  and  Miss  Madeline 
Agar's  "Garden  Design,"  a  very  practical  recent 
book.  William  Robinson's  great  book,  "The  Eng- 
lish Flower  Garden,"  has  its  place,  and  has  ful- 
filled, indeed  over-fulfilled,  its  purpose  to  do  away 
with  "bedding  out"  and  to  return  to  natural 
methods  of  planting;  but  the  extreme  views  there 
set  forth,  views  necessary  to  convince  a  settled 
public,  are  better  in  theory  than  in  practice. 

"Studies  in  Gardening,"  a  book  whose  contents 
first  appeared  in  the  form  of  letters  to  the  "Lon- 
don Times"  (that  journal  strictly  under  promise 
not  to  reveal  the  name  of  the  author),  is  a  remark- 
able book  on  gardening.  Written  in  a  direct  and 
charming  style,  full  of  sound  knowledge  most 
tactfully  imparted,  it  is  valuable  and  captivating 
to  a  degree,  and  happy  is  the  writer  in  whom  these 
236 


GARDEN    BOOKS 

qualities  are  combined.  Unfortunately,  this  book 
is  out  of  print. 

Of  Mr.  E.  Augustus  Bowles's  two  newly  pub- 
lished volumes  of  the  horticultural  trilogy,  "My 
Garden  in  Spring,"  "My  Garden  in  Summer," 
and  "My  Garden  in  Autumn,"  I  would  echo  the 
comment  of  an  English  journal:  "We  are  loath  to 
close  the  book,  which  every  true  gardener  should 
read  and  read  again.  Like  the  author's  garden, 
it  is  a  'thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever.'"  It 
is  impossible  not  to  be  caught  up  by  so  strong  a 
wave  of  enthusiasm  for  plants  and  the  growing  of 
them  as  sweeps  along  these  pages.  The  writer's 
learning  and  his  delight  in  his  gardening  pursuits 
are  everywhere  in  evidence;  yet  all  is  so  sponta- 
neously told  that  learning  and  delight  are  equally 
agreeable  to  the  reader.  There  is  in  these  books 
a  true  ecstasy  in  gardening. 

Before  these  of  Mr.  Bowles's  there  were  a  few 
such  books  —  books  carrying  this  quality  of  a 
spirit  of  joy  in  the  work  among  flowers.  Such  is 
Mrs.  Stephen  Batson's  "The  Summer  Garden  of 
Pleasure,"  with  such  pretty  chapter  headings  as 
"Incoming  Summer,"  "High  Summer,"  "The 
Rout  of  August,"  "Waning  Summer."  "The 
Guild  of  the  Garden  Lovers,"  by  Constance 
237 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

O'Brien,  is  to  me  enchanting  in  its  charm,  though 
many  serious-minded  gardeners  would  think  it 
but  a  trifle.  "The  Garden  of  Ignorance,"  by  Mrs. 
George  Cran,  also  has  its  diverting  niche  in  my 
affections;  and  last  Miss  Chappell's  tiny  vol- 
umes, "Gardening  Don'ts"  and  "More  Gardening 
Don'ts,"  which  I  charge  my  readers  not  to  miss,  if 
they  are  of  those  who  would  be  light-hearted  as 
they  garden ! 

So  many  are  the  books,  so  short  the  time  for 
reading,  even  for  naming,  them !  Let  me  beg  any 
reader  of  my  lines  to  fill  his  shelves  with  fine  gar- 
dening publications  as  eagerly  as  he  would  furnish 
his  garden-beds  with  plants,  that  his  borders  may 
reflect  a  well-stocked  mind  and  his  pleasure  in  his 
flowers  then  increase  a  thousandfold. 


XVII 
VARIOUS    GARDENS 


"Others,  again,  amongst  whom  I  number  myself,  love 
not  only  the  lore  of  flowers,  and  the  sight  of  them  and  the 
fragrance  of  them,  and  the  growing  of  them,  and  the  pick- 
ing of  them  and  the  arranging  of  them,  but  also  inherit 
from  Father  Adam  a  natural  relish  for  tilling  the  ground 
from  whence  they  were  taken  and  to  which  they  shall 
return." 

—"Letters  from  a  Little  Garden,"  JULIANA  HORATIA 
EWING. 


XVII 
VARIOUS    GARDENS 

IF,  on  reflection,  I  have  an  ungratified  wish  in 
gardening,  it  is  the  wish  to  live  in  a  country 
where  were  many  fine  gardens  within  easy  dis- 
tance from  my  own.  There  is  no  sight  so  stimu- 
lating to  the  gardener  as  that  of  other  people's 
ways  of  growing  and  grouping  flowers.  Thus  it 
is  that  horticultural  societies  make  annual  and 
semi-annual  pilgrimage  to  fine  gardens;  amateurs 
will  soon  group  themselves  into  such  bands  as 
these,  garden  clubs  go  forth  bent  upon  searching 
out  such  lovely  and  informing  sights.  For  many 
of  us  still,  however,  all  our  adventures,  like  those 
of  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  must  be  by  the  fireside, 
all  our  travels  from  the  blue  bed  to  the  brown. 
For  these  the  photograph,  the  printed  page,  must 
serve  for  the  charming  sights  themselves. 

This  book  began  pianissimo  with  a  rather  hesi- 
tating account  of  my  own  attempts  at  gardening; 
it   has   continued   crescendo   as   my    experience 
241 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

seemed  to  broaden  and  pleasure  certainly  to  in- 
crease in  planting,  working,  and  writing.  And  it 
ends,  thanks  to  the  goodness  of  stranger  and 
friend  alike,  fortissimo  and  allegro  too,  with  gar- 
den picture  and  garden  sketch  in  writing,  the  latter 
intimate  and  fresh  to  a  degree,  since  in  most  in- 
stances it  is  supplied  by  the  garden's  owner.  It 
will  be  readily  seen  that  these,  like  Sir  Thomas 
More's  Utopians,  "sett  great  stoore  be  theyr 
gardeins." 

From  East  to  West  these  gardens  lie  in  a  sort 
of  dipping  line  across  the  continent,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Philadelphia  example.  But  before 
setting  forth  on  this  horticultural  journey,  there 
are  here  to  be  noticed  pictures  of  two  gardens  at 
a  London  flower  show  —  one,  though  in  an  unfin- 
ished state  when  photographed,  giving  excellent 
suggestion  in  design;  the  other  beautiful,  rarely 
so,  for  its  flower  grouping.  These  were  examples 
of  fine  gardening  on  exhibition  at  the  International 
Show  of  1912  in  London  by  the  English  firm  of 
Wallace  &  Company,  of  Colchester  —  at  that 
show  which  will  live  in  the  history  of  horticulture 
as  the  largest  and  best  ever  held  in  Great  Britain. 
The  little  sunken  garden  carries  with  it  a  quiet 
charm  of  line  and  proportion.  Perhaps  the  dry 
242 


GARDEN   AT   LONDON   FLOWER   SHOW   OF   1912 


DETAIL   OF   ANOTHER   GARDEN   AT    LONDON   FLOWER   SHOW,    1912 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

wall  (farther  left  of  picture)  might  have  been  more 
beautifully  laid,  but  from  the  photograph  one 
catches  the  precious  quality  of  serenity  in  a  gar- 
den. The  use  of  flowers  is  apparently  somewhat 
restrained.  Eremuri,  it  will  be  noticed,  are  used 
at  regular  intervals,  and  beside  these  there  are 
in  this  so-called  English  border  iris,  anchusa 
Dropmore,  habranthus,  NepetaMussini,  cerastium, 
erigeron  (a  low,  daisylike  flower  not  often  seen  in 
our  own  gardens),  and  dianthus. 

In  the  illustration  showing  the  old  stone  seat  — 
a  vision  of  beauty  and  a  most  lovely  example  for 
the  American  gardener  —  the  things  which  sur- 
round the  seat  are  for  the  most  part  plants  with 
scented  foliage.  Campanula  Carpatica,  however, 
may  be  noticed  here;  also  irises,  hypericum,  and 
again  erigeron,  a  variety  by  the  name  of  Quaker- 
ess. The  masses  of  delicate  aspiring  flowers  back 
of  the  seat  and  below  the  Madonna  lilies  are,  I 
fancy,  either  anchusas  or  heucheras  in  bloom. 
And,  may  I  ask,  was  ever  that  flower  beloved  of 
poets  and  writers  of  songs,  the  water-lily,  as 
perfectly  set  as  in  this  place?  Notice,  too,  the 
small  ferns  so  cunningly  placed  as  to  overhang 
the  pools.  In  this  picture  nothing  is  overdone  — 
the  walls  are  not  smothered  under  flowers  nor  is 
243 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

the  dark  water  hidden  by  mats  of  uninteresting 
lily-pads,  as  is  too  often  the  case  when  one  has  a 
fancy  for  aquatics. 

Taking  now  our  gardens  in  non-geographical 
order,  but  in  their  general  groups  as  Eastern, 
Western,  and  Middle  Western,  we  will  look  first 
at  the  two  in  the  Middle  West.  This,  happily,  we 
may  do  through  the  medium  of  the  pens  of  the 
gardens'  owners.  The  first  description  is  of  an 
Ohio  garden  at  Gates  Mills,  not  far  from  Cleve- 
land; the  second  a  lawyer's  garden  in  the  lively 
and  agreeable  city  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 
The  descriptions  follow  as  given  me,  even  to  the 
humorous  thrust  in  the  line  which  concludes  the 
second. 

"My  garden  is  like  my  house;  perhaps  that  is 
what  all  gardens  should  be.  But  it  has  pleased 
me  to  play  that  the  old  lady,  with  New  England 
traditions,  who  built  the  little  cottage  seventy 
years  ago,  made  a  garden  to  go  with  it,  which  has 
gone  on  seeding  itself  and  tangling  all  sorts  of 
things  up  together. 

"There  is  an  uneven  stone  walk  leading  from 

the  gate  to  the  front  door,  and  before  the  deed 

of  the  place  was  in  my  possession  I  had  planted 

on  either  side  of  it  a  border  which  blooms  from 

244 


TERRACE   PLANTING,    GARDEN   ON   NANTTJCKET 


PHLOX  TIME,    GARDEN   AT   GATES  MILLS,    OHIO 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

February,  when  the  snowdrops  appear,  until  De- 
cember, when  the  snow  covers  the  chrysanthe- 
mums still  gayly  flowering. 

"Old-fashioned  flowers  have  always  had  the 
preference,  though  I  have  had  to  slip  in  the 
lovely  blue  salvia,  Japanese  anemone,  summer 
hyacinths,  and  others  which,  alas,  the  first  owner 
of  my  bit  of  ground  never  knew.  There  must  be 
the  historic  'fifty-seven  varieties'  in  these  borders, 
which  are  my  chief est  joy.  Next  is  the  bed 
around  the  sun-dial  with  its  foundation  of  an  old 
millstone  —  for  this  is  a  Gates  Mills  garden.  Here 
only  things  with  spiky  leaves  are  allowed  to  grow. 
The  crocus  begins  the  season;  daffodils,  scillas,  all 
sorts  of  iris,  yellow  lilies,  yuccas,  gladioli,  mont- 
bretias  follow  in  procession  until  summer  hya- 
cinths and  red-hot  poker  end  the  summer  in  a 
charming  combination,  and  not  one  of  them  but 
has  the  long,  slender  leaves.  My  latest  joy  is 
my  white  border  connecting  two  sets  of  beds  where 
many  old  and  some  new  fashioned  flowers  are 
massed  according  to  a  plan  which  does  change 
somewhat  every  year,  as  my  visions  of  color  com- 
binations vary.  What  a  lot  of  white  flowers  one 
can  find  to  crowd  in  front  of  the  background  of 
tall  white  phlox!  For  close  planting  carries  out 
245 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

my  pretending  that  it  is  really  Mrs.  Gates's  old 
garden  instead  of  an  imitation  of  a  dozen  years' 
growth. 

"Here  are  all  the  white-flowering  bulbs,  and 
rock-cress,  sweet-william,  columbine,  lilies,  peo- 
nies, Japanese  anemones,  achilleas,  the  lovely 
Campanula  pyramidalis,  summer  hyacinths,  fever- 
fews; and  after  the  bulbs  have  faded  away  every 
spot  is  filled  with  white  annuals. 

"This  border  has  just  had  its  first  birthday,  but 
in  my  imagination  —  that  first  necessity  of  a 
garden  —  a  charming  and  still  more  charming 
future  stretches  out  before  this  band  of  lovely 
whiteness. 

"These  and  the  long  arbor  with  its  flowering 
vines  are  the  parts  of  my  garden  nearest  my 
heart,  the  rest  is  just  garden." 

The  description  of  the  Grand  Rapids  garden 
is  next  in  order. 

"The  conditions  to  which  my  flower  garden  is 
subject  have  made  it  what  it  is.  These  condi- 
tions are: 

"1.  It  is  close  to  my  house  and  not  so  large 
but  that  every  part  of  it  is  always  in  full  view 
therefrom. 

"2.  I  restrict  myself  to  a  garden  which  I  can 
246 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

care  for  without  a  regular  gardener  and  with  only 
occasional  hired  help. 

"Because  of  the  first  of  these  conditions,  the 
garden  is  always  on  parade.  It  must,  therefore, 
be  always  sightly  throughout  its  entire  extent. 
So  it  must  be  treated  as  a  whole;  for  pleasing 
beds,  or  groups  of  flowers,  without  regard  to  the 
condition  at  all  times  of  the  rest  of  the  garden, 
will  not  produce  a  result  always  beautiful  in  its 
entirety.  That  effect  will  be  the  result  not  of  the 
flowers  alone,  but  of  flowers,  plants,  and  foliage, 
so  massed  and  grouped  as  always,  throughout  the 
season's  changes,  to  convey  to  the  eye  a  pleasing 
impression  of  the  garden  as  a  whole.  This  involves 
consideration  of  the  flowers,  foliage,  and  habit  of 
growth  of  each  of  the  plants  used,  and  of  the 
time  of  its  growth,  its  bloom,  its  decline  and 
decay.  It  requires  the  proper  grouping  of  all 
that  the  garden  contains,  so  as  to  cover  the 
ground,  to  hide  unsightly  plants  in  their  decline, 
to  present  always  a  pleasing  sky-line,  and  to  se- 
cure harmony  of  color  in  foliage  as  well  as  in 
flowers.  This  is  to  treat  the  garden  as  a  picture; 
and  these  things  are  the  main  factors  in  its  com- 
position. To  make  the  picture  effective  in  its 
place  there  must  be  a  relatively  large  quantity  of 
247 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

flowers,  the  high  lights  of  the  picture,  and  also  an 
unbroken  succession  of  bloom.  The  flowers  chosen 
for  this  purpose  should  be  reliable  and  prolific 
bloomers,  and  I  think  that  only  such  kinds  should 
be  used  as  yield  the  most  beautiful  and  effective 
flowers  that  can  be  had  at  the  particular  blooming 
season  of  each.  Why  seek  to  get  results  by  using 
flowers  insignificant  in  themselves  when  these  re- 
sults may  be  got  with  flowers  that  are  more 
beautiful  as  single  specimens? 

"To  obtain  my  unbroken  succession  of  bloom 
and  the  other  results  I  have  outlined,  I  have  used 
the  following:  crocuses,  daffodils,  Darwin  tulips, 
German  irises  and  pink  Oriental  poppies,  peonies, 
Thunberg's  lilies,  larkspurs  and  Madonna  lilies, 
Japanese  irises,  pink  annual  poppies,  phloxes, 
late  aconites,  and  Japanese  anemones.  These  may 
be  called  my  main-line  forces,  although  nothing  in 
the  garden  is  planted  in  rows  or  in  lines  or  accord- 
ing to  any  set  figure  or  design.  May-flowering 
scillas,  heucheras,  Rocky  Mountain  columbines, 
bleeding-hearts,  brodiseas,  ixias,  lupines,  gladioli, 
etc.,  come  in  as  aids  or  reinforcements  to  add  to 
the  beauty  and  gay  effect.  Peonies  and  late  aco- 
nites, on  account  of  their  lasting  foliage,  are  used 
not  only  for  their  flowers  but  with  reference  to 
248 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

the  sky-line  and  to  desired  screen  effects.  In  this 
I  am  greatly  aided  also  by  the  thalictrums  and 
native  ferns.  Out  of  beds  of  the  last-named  come 
up  many  daffodils,  tulips,  and  lilies.  The  peonies 
allow  the  larkspurs  as  well  as  the  Dutch  bulbs  to 
retire  and  hide  their  unsightliness  after  they  have 
bloomed.  By  the  aid  of  the  lasting  foliage  and 
difference  in  height  of  these  plants,  I  am  able 
also  to  obtain  a  varied  and  pleasing  sky-line  and 
to  keep  the  ground  from  showing  bare  or  unsightly 
spots.  I  have  had  more  difficulty  in  treating  the 
garden  picture  as  regards  these  things  than  in 
matters  relating  to  flowers  and  color  in  the 
garden. 

"My  way  of  treating  the  garden  for  succes- 
sional  bloom  and  for  continuous  sightliness  in- 
volves planting  many  crops  in  the  same  space. 
No  plant  has  any  exclusive  preserve  in  my  gar- 
den. All  are  set  in  irregular  groups  or  drifts,  one 
kind  crowded  on  top  of  another.  In  the  same 
space  the  various  kinds  come  up,  put  forth  leaves 
and  branches,  bloom,  and  die  down,  or  serve  as 
ground  screen  —  all  in  their  allotted  times,  and 
according  to  their  respective  habits.  This  pro- 
miscuous commingling  and  crowding  of  races  in- 
volves a  *  struggle  for  existence';  but  since  things 
£49 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

follow  in  succession  it  is  chiefly  a  question  of  suf- 
ficient fertilizing,  rather  than  of  room  or  of  light 
and  air,  so  far  as  the  flowers  and  garden  plants 
are  concerned.  It  is  the  weeds  that  this  struggle 
bears  most  heavily  upon;  for  such  thick  and  con- 
stant cover  as  results  from  my  scheme  of  planting 
holds  them  down.  It  also  holds  moisture  and 
minimizes  the  necessity  of  cultivation,  and  thereby 
I  satisfy  the  second  of  the  conditions  which  I 
stated  at  the  beginning. 

"A  little  thought  will  show  that  a  garden  main- 
tained on  the  plan  outlined  is  no  place  for  an- 
nuals or  for  most  of  the  biennials.  It  is  too 
crowded  for  their  development,  and,  moreover, 
too  much  labor  is  involved  in  raising  and  renew- 
ing them.  For  the  same  reasons  perennials  that 
are  difficult,  or  that  run  out  in  a  year  or  two,  are 
excluded,  although  I  am  still  over-indulgent  to 
the  peach-leaved  campanulas,  the  late-flowering 
aconites  (chiefly  on  account  of  their  height  and 
the  lateness  and  excellence  of  their  foliage),  and 
to  the  capricious  Rocky  Mountain  columbine. 

"It  is  obvious,  too,  that  color  and  color  schemes 

are  not  the  first  thought,  or  the  last  word,  in  my 

garden.    Flowers  are  not  invited  to  grow  there 

because  they  are  pink  or  blue  or  mauve  or  this  or 

250 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

that  art  shade.  Color  is  not  the  test  determin- 
ing whether  a  given  species  or  variety  can  come 
in,  but,  so  far  as  it  is  a  test  at  all,  whether  it 
must  stay  out.  Even  if  the  color  be  satisfactory 
and  harmonious,  yet  if  the  plant  is  bad  in  its 
habits,  if  it  sprawls  and  is  unsightly,  if  it  is  hog- 
gish and  overruns  its  neighbors,  it  cannot  get  in. 
Color  in  this  garden  is  a  material  factor  in  making 
the  picture,  only  in  the  same  way  as  beauty  of 
foliage  or  of  sky-line.  Its  importance  may  be 
greater,  but  that  is  a  matter  of  degree  only. 
Beauty  of  color  and  color  harmony  are  essential, 
because  if  the  colors  are  bad,  or  if  they  jar,  the 
effect  of  the  picture  will  be  spoiled.  Color  com- 
binations and  color  schemes  have  no  other  recog- 
nition, however. 

"'If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it.'" 

Now  come  four  Eastern  gardens.  Two  are  upon 
the  Atlantic  coast,  one  in  the  hills  of  Berkshire, 
and  the  third  in  a  suburb  of  the  most  finished  of 
all  American  suburbs,  those  of  Philadelphia. 

On  Nantucket  Island  has  been  created  a  garden 

spot  which,  from  its  very  pictures,  so  delights  me 

that  to  sometime  see  it,  its  lights  and  shadows, 

its  lovely  watery  distances,  is  a  thing  to  expect 

251 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

with  special  pleasure.  This  garden  is  the  more 
successful  when  one  hears  that  its  space  is  re- 
stricted, that  its  proportions  are  perhaps  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep  by  fifty  wide,  and  that 
the  ground  was  originally  the  site  of  an  ancient 
dwelling.  The  old  levels  of  cellar  and  main  floor 
were  scrupulously  and  closely  retained  giving  the 
necessary  drop  for  two  short  flights  of  low  steps. 
Along  the  street  line  there  is  a  fence.  Stepping- 
stones  go  through  the  entire  garden,  which  over- 
looks at  the  opposite  end  the  harbor  of  Nantucket. 
As  foreground  for  this  lovely  picture  of  water, 
tree  and  flower  have  been  used  with  a  most  ex- 
cellent eye  for  effect.  The  house  is  connected 
with  the  garden  by  a  terrace  of  brick  and  against 
the  wall  of  this  terrace  is  a  fine  border  of  annual 
flowers.  The  first  or  lower  garden,  next  the 
house,  is  oblong;  the  second  square;  the  third 
informal  in  treatment,  with  the  sea-lavender  lead- 
ing up  to  a  charming  little  pool  with  goldfish 
—  papyrus  growing  there. 

In  the  cut,  page  244,  showing  a  part  of  the  ter- 
race wall,  one  notices  the  old-time,  fan-shaped 
supports  for  roses  always  a  feature  of  the  early 
New  England  garden.  Here  are  seen  tall  fox- 
gloves rising  from  groups  of  the  wonderful  Iris 
252 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

Kaempferi,  the  little  pointed  box-tree  at  the  left 
a  good  foil  for  the  gay  colors  of  the  flowers. 
Everywhere  balance,  symmetry  —  that  regularity 
which  is  perhaps  more  precious  for  the  small 
piece  of  ground  than  for  the  large,  since  it  pro- 
duces, in  little,  effects  both  agreeable  and  fin- 
ished. In  the  foreground  of  the  highest  garden 
shown  in  the  illustration  a  perfect  use  is  made  of 
Statice  latifolia,  or,  appropriately,  sea-lavender. 
Below  these  plants,  the  beauty  of  whose  purple 
bloom  against  the  distant  blues  can  be  but  faintly 
imagined,  one  may  notice  little  gleams  of  sweet 
alyssum  and,  looking  straight  toward  the  sea, 
their  flowers  shining  against  the  green  of  the  next 
lower  level,  one  sees  delphiniums  most  happily  in- 
troduced into  the  picture.  Flowers  found  in  this 
garden  are,  with  others,  Shasta  daisies  and  many 
purple  and  yellow  Japanese  irises;  hedges  and 
box-trees  everywhere  to  form  enclosures,  to  af- 
ford backgrounds,  to  give  that  richness  of  dark 
green  always  peculiarly  effective  near  the  sea. 
The  photograph  of  this  garden  with  its  sight  of 
ocean  is  one  of  the  loveliest  gardening  composi- 
tions ever  falling  beneath  my  eye;  I  am  delighted 
that  it  may  grace  these  pages  (frontispiece). 

At  Swampscott,  Mass.,  set  upon  a  great  ram- 
253 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

part  of  rock  overhanging  the  Atlantic,  is  a  series 
of  small  gardens  on  a  property  of  three  acres.  The 
forms  and  flowers  of  these  gardens  send  one's 
thoughts  swiftly  to  divers  beautiful  parts  of  the 
earth.  The  house  in  this  case  has  a  site  of  great 
picturesqueness.  It  is  also  true  that  good  minds 
as  well  as  good  gardeners  have  been  at  work  here. 
Ingenious,  indeed  brilliant,  use  has  been  made  of 
boldly  varying  levels,  of  the  suddenly  changing  out- 
lines of  the  property  as  a  whole,  of  the  glorious 
outlook  upon  the  sea. 

Entrance  to  the  house  from  the  highroad  is 
obtained  through  a  bit  of  wooded  land,  passing 
on  the  left  the  first  of  a  group  of  gardens  on  lower 
and  yet  lower  levels.  This  is  the  sunken  garden 
of  one  hundred  by  fifty  feet.  Surrounded  by  a 
broad  grass  walk,  bordered  on  one  side  by  an 
arrangement  for  two  periods  of  bloom  of  dahlias 
and  hollyhocks,  this  is  an  English  garden  of  per- 
ennials. The  design  shows  four  balanced  beds, 
with  central  features  in  the  form  of  three  circular 
ones.  Of  these  the  middle  is  kept  in  turf,  the 
endmost  circles  delightfully  planted  as  color-har- 
monizing foci  for  their  gay  surroundings,  in  hues 
of  lavender  and  white.  One  of  these  circles  is 
filled  with  white  geranium  bordered  by  lavender- 
254 


AT    SWAMPSCOTT,    MASSACHUSETTS 


- 


FERNBROOK,    LENOX,    MASSACHUSETTS 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

blue  ageratum,  the  other  has  for  occupants  helio- 
tropes encircled  by  a  band  of  sweet  alyssum. 

Terraces  are  here  with  fine  retaining  walls,  well- 
planted  terraces;  curving  stone  steps  and  walks 
also  curving  follow  the  line  of  the  precipitous 
rock  which  divides  the  wild  from  the  cultivated 
part  of  this  place;  a  charming  fan-shaped  rose- 
garden  occupies  a  secluded  spot  but  with  its  own 
view  of  the  ocean.  A  little  platform  of  green- 
sward enclosed  by  a  square-clipped  hedge  of  privet 
forms  a  base  for  the  fine  Italian  well-head  with 
its  "overthrow"  of  restrained  design  shown  in  the 
illustration.  All  this  clear  green  and  dazzling  ar- 
chitectural whiteness  shines  against  the  blue  ex- 
panse of  sea  and  sky.  And  in  another  portion  of 
the  place  such  blooming  of  Iris  Kaempferi  takes 
place  as  is  seldom  seen  away  from  the  Flowery 
Kingdom.  (By  the  by,  why  does  not  some  one 
have  the  sense  and  grace  to  call  his  or  her  garden 
by  this  ever-charming  title?) 

It  is  with  the  mind's  eye  only  that  I  have  seen 
this  garden.  May  it  be  my  happy  lot  to  walk  in 
it  at  no  distant  time.  While  the  work  it  requires 
is  done,  its  mistress  assures  me,  only  by  herself  and 
her  Italian  gardener,  the  harvest  of  flowers  here 
above  the  "unharvested  sea"  is  truly  remarkable. 
255 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

There  is  at  Lenox,  in  the  Berkshire  Hills,  a  place 
with  the  musical  name  of  Fernbrook  Farm.  It 
is  high  on  one  of  the  glorious  hillsides  between 
Pittsfield  and  Lenox  and  reached  by  a  romantic 
drive  through  pretty  by-roads.  The  house  itself 
is  of  white  stucco  and  dark  wood  and  here  the 
eye  catches  first  of  all,  perhaps,  the  decorative  use 
of  fruit,  especially  of  rich  black  grapes,  as  the 
vines  are  caught  upward  above  windows  of  the  sec- 
ond story.  The  clusters  hang  clear  and  beauti- 
ful from  the  stem  all  the  way  up;  few  leaves  are 
allowed  to  remain.  Japanese  plums  and  crab- 
apples  grow  as  espaliers,  and  the  effect  of  this 
bold  decoration  of  fruit  and  leaf  against  the  white 
stucco  gives  an  Italian  touch,  a  lovely  reminis- 
cence of  that  land  of  sun  and  shadow. 

At  the  back  of  this  house,  looking  into  the 
mountainside,  there  is  first  a  grass  terrace  in  a 
court  made  by  the  projection  of  two  wings  of  the 
house  upon  it;  a  few  steps  down  a  second  and 
much  larger  terrace.  Here  is  a  fine  sun-dial,  a 
bronze  cupid  astride  a  globe  —  "Love  Ruling  the 
World,"  modelled  by  the  artist-owner  of  Fern- 
brook.  Flowers  are  so  disposed  about  the  ped- 
estal as  to  beautifully  adorn  it.  At  the  farther 
side  of  this  main  terrace,  through  a  small  per- 
256 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

gola  covered  with  berried  matrimony-vine  occurs 
a  descent  of  a  few  steps  into  a  long  pleached  walk 
of  apple-trees  running  through  the  kitchen  garden. 
In  places  the  steep  balustrades  leading  from  the 
first  to  the  second  terraces  are  accented  by  the 
use  of  dwarf  apple-trees  in  pots.  These  were  in 
fruit  when  I  saw  them,  and  the  shining  red  globes 
in  the  green  leaves  against  that  Italianesque  wall 
of  white  were  again  good  to  see.  Italian  gourds 
hanging  through  roofs  of  light  pavilions  and 
against  trellises  showed  a  fine  use  of  what  to  me 
was  a  new  horticultural  subject,  physalis,  the 
Chinese  lantern  plant,  with  its  vermilion  fruit 
lighting  the  borders  against  the  house  on  the  up- 
per terrace,  and  higher  up  its  color  was  repeated 
by  festoons  of  scarlet  peppers  and  tomatoes  hung 
with  careless  art  against  the  plastered  wall.  Ac- 
tinidia  arguta,  the  fine  creeper  from  Japan,  and 
our  native  bittersweet  were  in  evidence  here,  very 
much  thinned  as  to  branches  but  full  of  fruit. 
The  garden  proper  at  Fernbrook  Farm  has  been 
built  on  a  bit  of  level  and  projecting  ground  be- 
fore and  to  the  left  of  the  entrance  front  of  the 
house.  This  is  an  oblong  hedged  garden  planted 
gayly  in  long  narrow  beds  with  delphiniums,  roses, 
and  very  fine  scabiosas.  At  the  garden's  end 
257 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

farthest  from  the  entrance  is  a  circular  pavilion, 
an  informal  gazeebo,  its  roof  a  light  framework 
of  rods  or  canes.  Along  these  run  bold  vines  full 
of  blue-black  clusters,  this  fruit  of  the  vine  hung 
against  a  distance  of  valley  and  mountain  rich 
in  every  autumn  color  and  bound  together  by 
that  heavenly  October  haze  of  blue. 

It  was  in  October,  too,  that  I  saw  another 
garden,  Fancy  Field,  at  Chestnut  Hill,  near  Phil- 
adelphia. In  the  soft  autumnal  light  the  summer 
freshness  of  all  green  was  touched  here  almost 
to  the  gray-greens  of  Italy.  Would  that  my 
memory  of  this  garden  equalled  my  delight  in  it ! 
I  might  then  hope  to  describe  with  some  degree 
of  accuracy  what  I  so  enjoyed  upon  that  day. 
My  recollection  is  of  garden  after  garden,  one 
out-of-door  apartment  after  another,  perfectly 
connected,  with  a  most  knowing  use  of  structural 
green  in  the  way  of  hedges  low  and  high;  of  the 
quiet  effect  of  broad  spaces  of  hedge-enclosed  turf; 
of  one  garden  modelled  upon  the  Lemon  Garden 
of  the  Villa  Colonna  at  Rome;  'of  another,  illus- 
trated here,  a  reproduction  of  the  Dutch  Garden 
at  Hampton  Court  made  in  the  time  of  William 
and  Mary;  of  a  third,  a  knot  or  parterre  fashioned 
after  an  ancient  pattern  still  existing  somewhere 
258 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

among  the  English  dukeries  —  all  these  enchant- 
ingly  enclosed  and  giving  a  series  of  delightful 
surprises;  and  last,  a  remarkable  pergola  at  the 
back  of  all  the  gardens  and  bounding  their  whole 
length.  This,  very  high,  was  so  well  proportioned 
that  to  look  either  at  or  through  it  gave  instant 
pleasure.  At  the  moment,  too,  all  of  its  great 
rose-vines  carried  but  bare  stems.  In  this  gar- 
den one  had  everywhere  the  sense  of  proportions 
finely  maintained.  The  use  of  dwarf  fruit-trees 
and  of  espaliers;  of  box,  of  privet,  and  of  poplar 
in  hedging;  of  slight  but  effective  bits  of  terra 
cotta,  marble,  and  stone  now  and  again  in  these 
gardens,  was  exceedingly  good.  Indeed,  a  few 
pieces  of  bright  Italian  faience  made  one  spot  in 
the  garden  "si  gai  et  si  coquette"  that  the  bright- 
ness of  summer  itself  seemed  to  be  caught  and 
held  there  for  the  further  beauty  of  that  autumn 
day. 

Is  there  not  true  and  tranquil  beauty  in  the 
picture  of  one  of  these  gardens  ?  —  June,  with  some 
late  foxgloves  just  overlapping  the  first  delphin- 
iums; and  the  cleverest  introduction  of  the  two 
dogs  into  the  picture,  quite  unconscious  that  they 
are  the  living  repetitions  of  those  lions  cut  in 
stone! 

259 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

The  end  of  my  chapter  comes  quite  naturally 
with  those  gardens  which  lie  toward  the  setting 
sun. 

Two  gardens  near  Tacoma  fill  me  with  envy 
of  that  wonderful  climate  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Lavender  flourishes  in  Tacoma  gardens;  the  broom 
is  magnificent  in  May  on  the  prairies  which  stretch 
from  Tacoma  toward  American  Lake  some  ten  or 
twelve  miles  from  the  city;  and  here  the  heaths 
are  at  home  as  well,  both  Scotch  and  Mediter- 
ranean. The  winter  is  mild,  with  much  rain;  the 
summer  cool  but  rainless,  therefore  constant  water- 
ing of  lawns  and  flowers  in  the  latter  season  is 
the  practice.  A  glorious  picture  of  natural  plant- 
ing presents  itself  upon  these  prairies  where  superb 
spruce-trees  are  so  cunningly  grouped  in  colonies 
as  to  give  an  appearance  of  the  utmost  achieve- 
ment in  studied  art.  At  the  far  edge  of  one  of 
these  great  natural  parks  we  drive  through  a  grove 
of  beautiful  dark  trees  and  come  suddenly  upon 
a  rustic  gateway  dripping  with  pale-pink  rambler 
roses. 

We  pass  inside  the  gate  between  short  bordering 
beds  of  hybrid  perpetual  roses,  turn  sharply  to 
the  right,  and  behold  one  of  the  most  lovely  flow- 
ering vistas  it  has  ever  been  my  good  luck  to  see 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

real  and  living.  It  seems  painted;  it  is  too  good 
to  be  true,  this  artist's  arrangement  of  colors 
within  a  long  pergola  built  of  saplings  with  the  bark 
still  upon  them.  "I  made  it  all  myself,"  delight- 
edly exclaims  our  hostess  as  our  unconcealed  sur- 
prise and  pleasure  in  this  lovely  garden  pour  forth 
in  excited  talk.  On  the  right,  entering  the  per- 
gola —  a  pergola  with  a  raison  d'etre,  for  it  con- 
ducts from  gate  to  house  —  are  gray  foliage  of  pinks, 
Canterbury  bells  back  of  those;  farther  down, 
masses  of  Shasta  daisies,  gigantic  here  in  stature; 
beyond  those,  clouds  of  the  gray  gypsophila;  and 
then  a  delicious  mass  of  color  in  tones  ranging 
from  pale  lavender  to  deepest  purple,  the  flowers 
most  excellently  grouped,  an  effect  of  carelessness 
which  in  an  informal  border  is  supremest  art; 
among  the  flowers  used,  the  hyacinth-flowered 
candytuft  which  Burpee  sends  out,  here  appear- 
ing in  pinkish  mauve,  deep  purplish  pink,  and 
white;  purple  pansies  snuggling  among  these; 
rich  purple  annual  larkspur  sending  up  a  few 
spires  here  and  there;  and  climbing  above  all  a 
lavender  and  mauve  sweet  pea,  faint  notes  of  the 
color  below  reflected  in  the  air. 

Pictures  are  here  shown  of  the  rustic  tea-house, 
or  recessed  arbor,  at  one  end  of  this  pergola  immedi- 
261 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

ately  after  its  erection  (this  is  now  wreathed  in 
rambler  rose  Dorothy  Perkins);  of  the  pergola 
itself  in  its  first  summer,  a  tangle  of  scarlet  dah- 
lias; and  in  the  following  summer,  when  annuals 
were  the  mainstay.  During  the  third  summer 
these  were  the  subjects  here:  decorative  dahlia 
Golden  West,  white  dahlias,  and  a  hundred  feet 
of  Burpee's  Superb  Spencer  sweet  peas,  some  un- 
usual Spencer  seedlings  among  them,  especially 
the  heliotrope  Tennant  Spencer.  No  reds,  not  a 
red  blossom  in  the  pergola!  Outside  of  it  are 
white  dahlias  and  white  sweet  peas. 

Turning  again  to  the  prairie  for  a  mile  or  so 
farther,  our  road  leads  again  to  the  lake.  Here 
is  a  surprise  of  a  totally  different  character.  Ta- 
coma's  "year  one,"  as  some  one  has  said,  is  the 
year  1889,  yet  twenty  years  later,  only  twenty 
years  later,  here  stands,  surrounded  by  giant  firs, 
between  whose  columns  the  blue  reaches  of  the 
lake  and  the  greener  blues  of  distant  shores  are 
seen,  an  English  house,  a  dignified  and  serene 
country  house  of  the  earlier  Tudor  period,  with 
walled  garden  and  lily-pool.  The  latter  is  set  at 
a  suitable  distance  from  the  house  for  effect  from 
the  second-floor  windows;  and  a  large  cutting- 


RUSTIC   ARBOR  AND    PERGOLA   IN  TACOMA   GARDEN — FIRST   YEAR 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

garden,  formal  in  design,  lies  farther  back  toward 
the  prairie.  The  wonder  of  the  main  garden  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  has  been  most  skilfully  placed 
on  an  axis  with  that  noblest  of  American  peaks, 
Mount  Tacoma.  Clouds  hid  the  mountain  vision 
on  the  day  of  my  visit,  but  what  a  sensation  to 
see  Mount  Tacoma  from  one's  garden ! 

To  come  upon  this  English  picture,  this  delight- 
ful red-brick  house,  its  low  outlines  possessing  much 
of  the  sweetness  of  the  ancient  English  manor- 
house,  with  its  gardens  masterly  in  design  and 
rich  with  flowers  —  to  come  upon  this,  in  the  far- 
thest Northwest,  in  the  new  country,  is  to  find 
a  thing  almost  unbelievable.  "And  I  saw  in  my 
dream"  —  yet  the  dream  is  a  reality.  One  re- 
calls the  beautiful  house  of  Kipling's  in  "They" 
—  it  is  here  in  America,  in  that  noble  State  of 
Washington,  near  Tacoma. 

For  the  following  description,  full  of  sympathy 
and  charm,  of  the  gardens  of  Glendessary,  not  far 
from  Santa  Barbara,  I  am  indebted  to  the  owner 
herself.  Parenthetically  may  it  be  said  here  that 
nothing  the  writer  has  ever  seen  in  pictures  has 
so  strengthened  her  desire  to  see  California  as 
have  these  entrancing  vistas  full  of  color  and  of 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

sunlight,  the  roses  and  the  fountains,  of  this 
so  evidently  cherished  garden. 

Writing  first  of  the  picture  shown  here,  the 
garden's  owner  says:  "This  is  taken  from  the 
edge  of  a  fountain  basin  looking  toward  the  house. 
The  trees  are  Italian  cypress,  and  oaks  in  the 
extreme  background. 

"The  large  bushes  in  the  foreground  are:  right, 
the  yellow  Southern  jasmine,  Thuya  aurea,  fifteen 
feet  high;  pale-purple  veronicas;  the  rough  stone 
copings  laid  in  sand  along  the  paths  are  covered 
with  Ficus  repens.  Left,  Southern  jasmine,  Laurel 
nobiliSy  Swainsonia,  and  various  small  things. 
This  left  bed  is  filled  with  Camellia  Japonica  in 
different  colors,  which  bloom  profusely  from  No- 
vember to  May  and  are  too  perfect  for  words. 
They  are  small  yet,  not  more  than  four  feet  high. 
There  are  palms  alike  in  each  bed,  the  Chamerops 
excelsa,  whose  very  delicate  fanlike  leaves  quiver 
with  the  faintest  breeze.  At  the  second  steps 
there  is  a  high  green  clipped  hedge  which  encloses 
and  also  separates  the  Little  Garden  from  the 
forecourt,  in  which  there  are  only  the  lawn  and 
the  oaks  with  a  stone  railing. 

"It  was  in  1902  that  we  began  taking  the  scat- 
tered rocks  and  bowlders  out  of  the  small  piece  of 
264 


THORNEWOOD,   AMERICAN   LAKE,   TACOMA 


GLENDESSARY,    SANTA   BARBARA,"  CALIFORNIA 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

pasture,  through  which  an  old  stream-bed  still 
could  be  followed,  and  built  the  walls  around  the 
*  Little  Garden,'  as  it  is  called,  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  Orchard,  the  Rock  Garden,  and  the 
Shrubbery,  etc.  The  ideas  expressed  in  this  small 
place  were  harmonious  color,  fragrance,  plants 
mentioned  in  literature,  and  water.  There  were 
several  large  'Live  Oaks,'  as  the  California  oak 
is  called,  in  the  enclosure,  which  served  as  a  start- 
ing-point for  the  walls,  the  seats,  and  the  general 
shape  of  the  garden.  A  formal  plan  of  walks  and 
beds  was  decided  upon  in  the  first  place,  varied 
slightly  by  the  position  of  existing  objects  in  the 
way  that  a  Turkish  rug  varies  from  its  pattern 
in  places.  I  am  told  by  garden  architects  that 
it  is  not  exact  enough,  but  I  could  not  bear  to  lose 
a  single  old  tree;  and  the  mathematical  glories 
must  suffer  a  little. 

"A  garden  seems  to  me  a  collection  of  the  flowers 
one  loves  best  or  has  a  very  dear  association  with 
in  one's  mind  from  poems  or  books,  and  mine  began 
with  Laurus  nobilis  and  orange-trees,  jasmine  and 
ivy,  and  climbing  roses  on  the  walls  —  Madame  Al- 
fred Carriere,  La  Marque,  and  Olga  of  Wtirtem- 
berg,  Celine  Forestier  and  Beauty  of  Glazen- 
wood  —  the  white  wistaria  in  the  oak-trees  in  the 
265 


THE    WELL-CONSIDERED    GARDEN 

spring  and  the  Daphne  odorata  and  lemon  verbena 
to  lean  over  and  breathe  in.  ...  The  pool  in  the 
centre  is  full  of  brilliant  lilies,  and  the  lotus-tank 
below  is,  in  summer,  a  lovely  group  of  perfect 
beauty  around  which  the  darting  green  dragon-flies, 
the  humming-birds,  and  bees  are  constantly  seen. 
The  colors  are  very  carefully  considered,  and  the 
flowers  are  separated  t>y  green  shrubs  and  plant- 
ings which  break  the  garden  into  many  nooks  and 
corners. 

"  Everything  will  grow  in  California  if  the  proper 
care  is  taken,  and  the  succession  of  flowers  is  a 
never-ending  source  of  happiness.  The  earth  is 
quite  covered,  as  there  are  many  low-growing 
plants,  which  serve  as  a  setting  for  their  more 
ambitious  sisters;  and,  since  we  cannot  easily  have 
grass,  the  earth  must  be  covered  with  tiny  plants. 
The  use  of  plants  in  pots  is  also  very  helpful  in 
places  where  one  needs  a  certain  form  or  color; 
and  the  big,  coarse  red  Mexican  jar  made  in  Los 
Angeles  is  a  great  boon.  We  have  many  plants 
indigenous  to  California  which  are  most  valuable 
to  the  lover  of  formal  gardening;  among  them  the 
numerous  agaves  and  aloes  fill  many  an  impor- 
tant spot." 

It  is  gardening  such  as  this  which  gives  joy 
266 


VARIOUS    GARDENS 

to  the  discriminating;  it  is  beyond  all  a  question 
of  the  mind  and  eye.  The  nobler  the  intellect, 
the  more  poetic  the  imaginative  vision,  the  hap- 
pier he  or  she  who  gardens.  And  is  there  any  one 
so  happy  as  the  fortunate  possessor  of  a  bit  of 
ground  and  the  wish  to  give  a  loveliness  higher 
than  earth  has  yet  been  known  to  show?  He 
who  has  done  this  should  be  a  supremely  happy 
man,  and  "to  the  supremely  happy  man,  all  times 
are  times  of  thanksgiving,  deep,  tranquil,  and 
abundant,  for  the  delight,  the  majesty,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  fulness  of  the  rolling  world." 


267 


APPENDIX 
NOTE    ON    GARDEN    CLUBS 


APPENDIX 
NOTE  ON  GARDEN  CLUBS 

"Have  we  progressed  in  gardening?"  asks  Doctor  Wil- 
helm  Miller  in  "Country  Life  in  America";  and  then  pro- 
ceeds to  show  that,  while  deprecating  all  boastfulness  on 
our  part,  we  have  certainly  made  great  strides  as  to  the 
amount  and  the  quality  of  our  horticultural  growth  in  the 
last  ten  years.  Doctor  Miller  adds  columns  of  interesting 
details  to  prove  his  assertion.  In  a  single  inconspicuous 
line  occur  these  words:  "First  women's  clubs  devoted  to 
gardening."  Insufficient  emphasis,  it  seemed  and  seems  to 
me,  to  lay  upon  the  sight  of  this  organization  of  garden 
clubs  now  proceeding  with  such  amazing  rapidity.  To  those 
to  whom  the  art  of  gardening  is  dear,  to  all  heart-felt  gar- 
deners, a  significance  of  the  very  highest  order  attaches  it- 
self at  once  to  the  spectacle  of  these  clubs  rising  in  every 
direction  in  our  land  —  a  significance  which  is  really  a 
prophecy,  a  promise  of  beauty. 

If  the  Garden  Club  of  Philadelphia  is,  as  I  believe  it  to 
be,  the  first  of  its  kind  to  come  into  being  in  this  country, 
then  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  horticultural  benefactors  Amer- 
ica has  seen,  and  in  time  to  come  many  gardeners  will  rise 
up  and  call  it  blessed.  To  some  people  it  may  seem  that  the 
art  of  gardening  is  too  gentle,  too  delicate,  to  admit  of  its 
devotees'  submission  to  rules  made  by  ordered  groups;  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  a  complex  art;  and  now  so  popular  a 
271 


APPENDIX 

pursuit  that  I  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  say  that  there  has 
been  a  suspicion  of  midsummer  madness  in  the  way  in  which 
garden  clubs  have  been  springing  up  month  by  month  in 
the  years  just  past.  A  deep,  persistent,  and  growing  inter- 
est in  gardening  seems  to  have  suddenly  crystallized  in  this 
charming  and  most  practical  fashion,  with  the  result  that 
fifty  or  more  of  these  organizations,  varying  in  size  and 
form,  are  now  in  existence.  Offshoots  of  these  clubs  seem 
to  be  multiplying  as  rapidly  as  bulblets  from  a  good  gladiolus 
in  a  fair  season. 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  garden  clubs  that  they  have  a 
distinctly  social  side.  Gardening  at  its  highest  can  best  be 
carried  on  by  men  and  women  of  high  intelligence,  taste,  ex- 
perience, and  —  alas  that  it  must  be  said!  —  the  wherewithal. 
With  the  true  gardener  this  money  question,  however,  is  the 
last,  least  requisite,  for  who  that  deeply  loves  a  garden 
does  not  know  that  qualities  most  rare  and  fine  shine  out 
oftenest  through  the  flowers  of  small  and  simple  gardens? 
It  is,  I  have  sometimes  compassionately  thought,  more  diffi- 
cult for  a  richer  man  to  achieve  his  heart's  desire  in  garden- 
ing than  for  a  poorer  one.  Many  are  the  conventional  ob- 
stacles to  gardening  raised  in  the  path  of  the  owners  of  great 
gardens. 

The  Garden  Club  of  Philadelphia  was,  I  believe,  the  first 
of  its  kind  in  this  country.  It  is  now  twelve  years  of  age. 
It  has,  in  these  twelve  years,  had  no  change  in  the  offices 
of  president  and  secretary;  and  it  has  been  the  active  agent 
in  the  organization  of  many  other  clubs  of  a  like  nature. 
This  society  has  perhaps  fifty  members.  It  meets  weekly 
from  the  middle  of  April  to  the  first  of  July;  twice  in  Sep- 
tember, and  has  besides  three  winter  meetings;  all  "for  plea- 
sure and  profit."  A  paper  is  read  at  each  meeting  on  a  sea- 
272 


APPENDIX 

sonable  topic,  the  club  studying,  besides,  plants,  fertilizers, 
insecticides,  fungi,  birds,  bees,  and  moths,  quality  of  soils, 
climate,  and  so  on,  care  of  house-plants,  trees,  and  shrubs. 
The  club  has  visited  the  gardens  of  Mount  Vernon,  Hampton 
near  Baltimore,  Princeton,  Trenton,  and  many  gardens  at 
Bar  Harbor.  Specialists  on  horticultural  subjects  have 
from  time  to  time  addressed  them.  In  the  club's  library  are 
more  than  one  hundred  papers  prepared  by  members.  Their 
activities  extend  beyond  their  own  limits  in  several  direc- 
tions, notably  toward  the  movement  made  by  the  Society 
for  the  Protection  of  Native  Plants. 

Now,  as  to  the  age  of  the  garden  clubs  other  than  the 
Philadelphia  I  am  not  informed.  In  the  following  mention 
of  them,  therefore,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  give  any  one 
club  precedence,  but  shall  first  take  up  the  Garden  Club 
of  Ann  A.rbor,  Michigan,  because  of  its  liberal  use  of  the 
letter  A!  This  club  is  unique  in  its  ultra-democratic  policy. 
Whereas  the  Garden  Club  of  Cleveland,  in  two  gentle  sen- 
tences of  its  rules  and  regulations,  remarks  that  "eligibility 
to  membership  in  this  club  is  limited  to:  A.  Those  who  are 
fortunate  possessors  of  gardens  of  unusual  perfection.  B. 
Those  who  plan  and  develop  personally  and  enthusiastically 
gardens  of  their  own  design"  —  the  Garden  Club  of  Ann 
Arbor  declares  that  only  he  or  she  shall  enter  their  ranks 
who  is  possessed  of  "an  active  personal  enthusiasm  and 
working  interest  in  one's  garden,"  and  follows  this  with  the 
rigid  exclusion  of  all  others  in  this  explicit  language:  "Only 
amateurs  doing  individual  practical  work  in  their  own  gar- 
dens or  yards  are  eligible  for  active  membership  in  the  club." 
An  interesting  question  here  presents  itself.  Were  this  a 
discursive  article,  I  should  be  tempted  to  set  forth  my  rea- 
sons for  believing  that  the  Cleveland  Club  has  the  best  of  it ! 
273 


APPENDIX 

The  Garden  Club  of  Cleveland,  of  which  mention  has  just 
now  been  made,  has  this  fine  sentence  in  its  charter:  "The 
purpose  for  which  this  corporation  is  formed  is  to  cultivate 
the  spirit  of  gardening  in  its  fullest  sense,  together  with  an 
appreciation  of  civic  beauty  and  betterment  in  and  about 
Cleveland."  No  mean  ambition  here;  though,  as  their  sec- 
retary says,  their  aspirations  are  far  more  numerous  as  yet 
than  their  experiences !  Seventy-seven  names  are  upon  the 
roster  of  this  club.  The  meetings  are  in  summer  weekly,  in 
winter  monthly.  Mr.  Charles  Platt  has  spoken  at  one  of 
these  on  formal  gardening,  a  lecture  on  peonies  has  been  had, 
and  the  prizes  are  already  offered  for  this  summer's  flowers, 
one  for  a  rose  contest. 

New  Canaan,  Connecticut,  has,  it  would  appear,  the  largest 
membership  of  the  garden  clubs.  It  carries  the  name  of  its 
dwelling-place  and  shows  a  membership  of  about  two  hun- 
dred —  all  this  within  three  years  of  life !  In  each  of  these 
years  an  exhibition  of  flowers  has  been  held,  with  none  but 
professionals  as  judges.  This  powerful  club  has  helped  sev- 
eral other  similar  societies  to  come  into  being,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Plant,  Fruit,  and  Flower  Guild,  assisting  that  or- 
ganization in  its  work. 

It  may  be  that  the  Garden  Association  of  Newport  might 
be  called  the  most  ambitious  of  the  newly  formed  gardening 
societies,  as  may  be  seen  by  mentioning  in  order  its  objects. 
These  are:  "First:  To  increase  the  knowledge  of  owners  of 
gardens  in  Newport  by  means  of  lectures  and  practical  talks 
in  the  garden  during  the  summer  months  by  well-known  au- 
thorities on  trees,  lawns,  roses,  hardy  flowers,  perennial 
borders,  and  so  on.  Second:  To  provide  a  corresponding 
secretary  who  will  keep  the  association  in  touch  with  the  de- 
velopment of  new  ideas  and  improvements  in  the  varieties 
274 


APPENDIX 

of  flowers  among  the  seedsmen  and  gardeners  of  France, 
Germany,  and  the  East.  Third:  To  establish  a  bureau 
where  the  seeds  of  novelties  from  abroad  can  be  obtained. 
Fourth:  To  develop  by  means  of  illustrated  lectures  on  the 
gardens  of  England,  Italy,  and  other  countries  more  art,  in- 
dividuality, sentiment,  and  variety  in  the  planting  of  flowers, 
shrubs,  and  so  forth.  Fifth :  To  increase  the  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  care  of  trees  and  plants  by  demonstrating  the 
methods  used  in  Europe  in  the  cultivation  of  flowers,  fruit, 
and  vegetables,  and  in  forestry." 

Objects,  these,  most  excellent,  and  most  excellently  set 
forth.  In  my  judgment  the  Newport  association  is  right; 
we  still  must  go  abroad  to  find  most  of  that  which  is  highest 
and  best  in  gardening.  This  remark  may  provoke  criticism. 
It  is  still  true.  The  fine  gardens,  the  great  arboreta  (with 
the  exception  of  our  own  Arnold  Arboretum,  whose  dollar 
bulletins  no  garden  club  should  fail  to  get  and  read),  the  most 
perfect  use  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  are  not  yet  found 
generally  in  this  country.  And  the  sooner  incisive  sugges- 
tions, such  as  these  of  the  Newport  association,  wake  us  to  a 
sense  of  what  we  have  not,  and  where  we  should  go  to  find 
it,  the  better  for  us.  On  the  other  hand,  the  library  of  the 
Newport  society  seems  wofully  behind,  in  that  it  has  no 
books  but  English  books,  and  that  those,  indeed,  seem  to  me 
to  be  more  the  suggestions  of  an  English  gardener  or  super- 
intendent than  of  the  fine  English  amateur.  Six  books 
wanting  from  this  list,  some  English  and  some  American,  are 
"in  my  foolish  opinion"  indispensable  to  the  serious  ama- 
teur in  this  country,  the  gardener  whose  one  desire  is  to  call 
forth  true  beauty  from  the  earth. 

The  Newport  association  has  had  lectures  or  talks  during 
the  summer  of  1912  on  the  subjects  of  soil,  the  art  of 
275 


APPENDIX 

planting,  and  roses.  No  object-lesson  in  the  advancement 
of  gardening  could  be  more  effective  than  that  of  the 
decision  of  these  dwellers  in  Newport  —  some  of  them  pos- 
sessors of  as  fine  gardens  as  America  has  to  show  —  no 
object-lesson  could  be  better  than  their  admission  that  still 
they  need  to  learn;  that  their  gardens,  some  of  them  con- 
sidered practically  perfect,  still  need  contributions  from  the 
charming  flowers  and  plants  of  that  older  world  beyond 
the  Atlantic. 

The  Shedowa  Garden  Club,  of  Garden  City,  New  York,  has 
for  president  and  secretary  two  whose  brains  are  never  idle  in 
working  for  a  progressive  policy  for  their  club.  (Shedowa  is 
an  Iroquois  word  meaning  Great  Plains.)  Their  fifty-odd 
members  meet  about  every  fortnight.  They  have  had  sev- 
eral authorities  address  them  during  then*  first  year's  exist- 
ence, they  have  already  a  library  of  forty  volumes,  and  they 
have  taken  much  interest  in  improving  the  flower  exhibit 
at  the  Nassau  County  Fair.  The  president  of  the  club  is 
now  exerting  herself  to  get  the  various  plantsmen  and  seeds- 
men of  the  country  to  adopt  the  fine  color  chart  of  Doctor 
Robert  Ridgway,  "Color  Standards  and  Color  Nomencla- 
ture." 

From  an  account  of  this  club  by  its  secretary  I  quote: 
"The  management  of  the  Shedowa  Club  is  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  executive  committee.  The  membership  is  not 
limited;  the  dues  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  average  gar- 
den club,  and  men  of  the  community  are  admitted  as  asso- 
ciates (since  they  cannot  attend  afternoon  meetings)  for  a 
still  smaller  fee.  The  club  is  an  all-the-year-round  one,  with 
meetings  each  month,  and  an  occasional  extra  talk.  The 
speakers  and  their  expenses,  prizes  (except  for  four  cups  of- 
fered at  each  large  flower  show  by  members  and  not  per- 
276 


APPENDIX 

mitted  to  exceed  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  price),  and,  in 
fact,  all  expenses,  are  paid  from  the  club  treasury.  An  en- 
trance fee  for  members,  and  admission  to  non-members,  are 
charged  at  the  spring  and  fall  shows,  and  occasionally  a 
small  admission  fee  is  charged  to  non-members  for  some  of 
the  illustrated  lectures;  but,  as  a  rule,  non-members  are  in- 
vited as  guests;  and  no  admission  fee  is  ever  charged  to 
members  except  for  the  shows.  Neither  fee  nor  admission 
is  charged  for  the  little  shows  at  meetings.  Members  are 
never  assessed  beyond  their  annual  dues." 

At  Short  Hills,  New  Jersey,  is  a  small  but  vigorous  garden 
club,  with  so  informal  an  organization  that  there  is  no  officer 
but  the  president.  Membership  here  is  limited ;  but  meetings 
are  frequent,  in  summer  as  frequent  as  once  a  week,  "thus 
enabling  us,"  to  quote  a  member,  "to  watch  carefully  the 
development  of  color  schemes  and  artistic  planting,  so  en- 
thusiastically started  in  the  previous  season;  and  to  note 
the  growth  of  plants  tried  in  our  locality  for  the  first  time." 
The  writer  further  remarks  upon  the  incentive  established  by 
the  frequency  of  meetings  —  and  that  in  time  of  failure  the 
meetings  prove  a  consolation  as  well.  The  Short  Hills  Club 
has  also  for  several  years  had  dahlia  shows.  In  this  short 
account  the  most  excellent  suggestions  are  interesting  novel- 
ties in  plants,  a  subject  which  always  touches  one  nearly, 
and  an  exhibition  devoted  to  a  particular  flower. 

The  Garden  Club  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  with  a  member- 
ship of  twenty-four,  is  limited  to  twenty-five.  (One  cannot 
help  envying  that  twenty -fifth  member !)  It  holds  its  regular 
meetings  on  the  second  Monday  of  each  month,  with  an 
extra  meeting  sometimes  on  the  fourth  Monday.  The  letter 
of  the  Trenton  club's  secretary  is  so  beguiling  that  I  yield 
to  the  temptation  to  quote  a  part  of  it  verbatim — "We 
277 


APPENDIX 

started  our  club  a  year  ago,  and  being  perfectly  overrun 
with  clubs  and  rather  tired  of  them,  we  have  tried  to  make 
it  as  unclublike  as  possible.  It  has  been  the  greatest  suc- 
cess. We  have  had  delightful  meetings,  with  papers  and 
talks  by  our  own  members.  We  have  had  two  days  in  the 
country  with  the  wild  flowers,  which  were  intensely  enjoyed. 
Those  who  were  able  went  to  a  lecture  by  Hugo  de  Vries,  at 
Princeton;  and  in  the  spring  some  of  us  visited  the  garden 
planned  by  the  late  Mrs.  Woodrow  Wilson,  doubtless  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  smaller  gardens  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
During  the  summer  a  number  of  meetings  were  held  at  the 
seashore,  where  most  of  the  members  had  come  together  and 
studied  the  flowers  of  the  coast,  both  wild  and  cultivated. 
Some  of  our  topics  are:  'Flowers  in  Mythology  and  History,' 
'The  Christmas  Tree,'  'Evergreens  from  Prehistoric  Ages  to 
our  Gardens,'  'Orchids,  Wild  and  Cultivated,'  'English  Gar- 
dens,' 'French  Gardens,'  'Italian  Gardens,'  'Kew  and  Its 
Research  Work,'  'Flowers  in  Poetry,'  'Insect  Pests,'  'The 
Hardy  Border,'  'Roses,'  'Bulbs';  and  always  we  have  prac- 
tical discussion  for  the  last  hour."  The  range  of  suggestion 
here  set  forth  is  remarkable,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the 
enthusiasm  warming  every  word  of  this  short  letter  will 
affect  others  who  may  read  it  here,  as  it  has  already  af- 
fected me. 

The  Garden  Club  of  Lenox,  Massachusetts,  has  the  great 
good  luck  to  exist  where  backgrounds,  both  near  and  far,  are 
pictures;  where  planting,  however  little,  cannot  fail  to  be 
telling.  Disadvantages  may  exist.  Frost  surely  arrives  too 
soon;  soil  on  those  glorious  hillsides  may  be  scarce;  yet 
where  every  prospect  is  one  of  beauty,  the  stimulus  toward 
the  creation  of  beauty  must  be  unique.  Add  to  this  the 
fact  that  for  at  least  a  year  a  painter  and  sculptor  was  their 
278 


APPENDIX 

president,  and  could  the  most  eager  garden  club  ask  for 
more? 

In  this  club  men  and  women  are  again  associated.  The 
membership  is  limited  to  one  hundred  and  twenty -five,  and 
has,  I  fancy,  barely  reached  that  number.  Regular  meet- 
ings are  held  on  the  first  Mondays  of  July,  August,  Septem- 
ber, and  October.  Two  novel  and  highly  interesting  sections 
occur  in  the  by-laws  of  the  Lenox  Garden  Club.  The  first 
is  this:  "On  the  third  Monday  in  June,  July,  August,  and 
September  there  shall  be  meetings  of  the  officers  and  council 
for  the  closer  study  of  gardens  and  gardening  problems  and 
the  general  management  of  the  club.  All  eligible  to  the 
council  must  do  manual  work  in  their  gardens,  and  bring  to 
the  meetings,  twice  during  the  season,  interesting  specimens 
of  plants,  blights,  or  insects,  giving  their  personal  experience 
with  them." 

The  second  follows  and  concerns  a  plant  exchange :  "  Mem- 
bers having  plants  to  exchange  or  give  away  may  send  a 
postal  giving  names  and  quality  to  the  recorder.  Members 
desiring  plants  may  send  in  applications  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  recorder  shall  keep  a  list  of  both  and  shall 
bring  the  same  to  all  meetings,  that  members  may  refer 
to  it." 

The  younger  clubs  naturally  profit  by  such  wise  arrange- 
ments and  suggestions  as  these.  Thus  it  is  not  strange  to  see 
rules  on  these  general  lines  in  the  book  of  the  Garden  Club 
of  Long  Island,  whose  membership  seems  to  centre  about 
Lawrence  and  which,  though  in  existence  only  since  Septem- 
ber of  1912,  has  the  astonishing  membership  "already  yet 
so  soon, "  as  an  old  German  gardener  of  my  acquaintance  was 
wont  to  say,  of  ninety-one !  This  club  meets  twice  a  month 
in  summer.  Miss  Rose  Standish  Nichols  has  spoken  to  them 
279 


APPENDIX 

on  "Gardens,"  Miss  Averill  on  "Japanese  Flower  Arrange- 
ment," and  Miss  Coffin  on  "Color  and  Succession  in  the 
Flower  Garden." 

Returning  again  to  the  Middle  West,  we  have  the  Garden 
Club  of  Cincinnati,  which,  to  quote  from  a  recent  letter, 
"limits  its  membership  to  thirty." 

"The  By-Laws  read  rather  insistently  upon  its  members 
being  active  workers  in  their  gardens,  although  there  are 
included  a  small  number  of  associate  and  honorary  mem- 
bers. From  its  inception  the  greatest  enthusiasm  has  been 
shown  by  the  members  of  this  club,  whose  meetings  are  held 
fortnightly  during  most  of  the  year.  Lectures  by  profes- 
sionals have  been  given  and  papers  read  by  the  members. 
The  bulletins  have  been  most  interesting,  and  the  exhibi- 
tions have  embraced  displays  of  all  sorts  of  bulbs,  forced 
and  outdoor  grown,  roses,  delphiniums,  iris,  dahlias,  cosmos, 
chrysanthemums,  and  floral  arrangements  for  different  oc- 
casions. These  exhibitions  have  been  accompanied  by  de- 
bates and  prizes  have  been  awarded. 

"The  last  dahlia  show  was  given  in  the  pergola  of  the 
Zoological  Gardens  and  was  on  a  large  scale.  Thousands 
of  blooms  were  shown  by  amateur  and  professional  growers. 

"One  of  the  important  aims  of  this  club  has  been  to 
beautify  the  city  and  adjacent  country  roads.  Ten  thou- 
sand pink  ramblers  have  been  planted,  and  seeds  and  bulbs 
are  being  scattered  along  the  rural  ways. 

"Meetings  have  been  held  with  the  botany  class  of  the 
university,  and  the  club  now  hopes,  with  encouragement,  to 
establish  a  chair  in  gardening  at  this  institution. 

"The  oriflamme  of  the  Garden  Club  of  America  is  also  car- 
ried by  the  Garden  Club  of  Cincinnati,  and  it  further  aims  to 
put  Botticelli  foregrounds  in  all  of  Cincinnati's  landscapes." 

Now  for  the  club  in  which  I  am  most  at  home  —  the 
280 


APPENDIX 

Garden  Club  of  Michigan.  This  was  patterned  mainly  upon 
that  of  Philadelphia,  and  I  here  acknowledge  with  renewed 
gratitude  our  debt  to  that  organization,  which  was  most  gra- 
cious in  its  assistance;  and  to  the  New  Canaan  Garden 
Club,  also  a  friend  in  need.  Our  club,  like  the  Philadelphia, 
has  sixty  members.  We  have  had,  during  our  first  year's 
existence,  seventeen  meetings,  with  lectures  upon  such  sub- 
jects as  roses,  new  flowers,  gardens  of  England,  garden  books, 
color  in  the  garden,  the  making  of  an  old-fashioned  garden, 
the  grouping  of  shrubs,  and  the  planning  and  planting  of 
home  grounds.  "We  have  learned,"  writes  our  secretary, 
"much  about  gardens,  gardeners,  and  gardening;  also  that 
even  garden  clubs  do  not  grow  of  themselves ! " 

For  our  club  I  have  prepared  from  time  to  time  a  list  of 
color  combinations  in  flowers,  simple  ones,  easily  produced 
—  a  list  of  my  own  preferences  in  seedsmen  and  plantsmen, 
including  specialists  in  this  country  and  abroad,  drawn  from 
dealings  of  twenty  years  past.  If  a  seedsman  sends  me  a 
specially  good  sheet  of  cultural  directions  for  a  given  flower, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  beg  at  once  for  sixty  for  our  next  meeting. 
Little  piles  of  these  things  on  the  secretary's  table  do  wonders 
in  shortening  the  hard  road  to  good  gardening.  We  have,  as 
a  club,  joined  two  or  three  plant  societies,  and  during  the 
coming  year  we  hope  to  help  in  some  public  horticultural  im- 
provement in  Detroit,  for  in  that  city  lies  the  balance  of  our 
membership.  The  annual  dues  of  our  club,  which  were  two 
dollars,  have  now  been  raised  to  five.  The  dues  of  the  va- 
rious clubs  average  this  sum;  though  in  one  club  the  sub- 
scription is  fifteen.  In  all  clubs  the  meetings  are  held,  as  a 
rule,  in  the  houses  or  gardens  of  members. 

Expeditions  are  undertaken  by  some  of  the  clubs — jour- 
neys to  fine  gardens,  public  or  private.  This  is  as  it  should 
be.  In  England  it  is  a  common  sight,  that  of  horticultural 
281 


APPENDIX 

societies  going  about,  en  masse,  forty  or  fifty  strong,  inspect- 
ing gardens.  Many  of  these  must  knock  daily  at  Miss 
JekylTs  "close-paled  hand-gate."  I  would  suggest  to  mem- 
bers on  the  eastern  seaboard  that  they  avail  themselves  of 
the  beauties  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  in  lilac  time,  or  in 
mid-June  —  and  never  without  a  note-book,  for,  as  at  Kew, 
every  tree  and  shrub  is  labelled  to  perfection. 

Other  clubs  there  are  of  which  mention  should  be  made, 
as  the  Garden  Club  of  Warrenton,  Virginia,  an  offshoot  of 
the  Philadelphia  Club;  the  Garden  Club  of  Princeton,  New 
Jersey;  "The  Weeders,"  of  Haverford,  Pennsylvania;  the 
club  at  New  Rochelle,  New  York;  one  forming  at  San  Antonio, 
Texas;  indeed,  at  the  time  of  writing,  the  whole  number  of 
clubs  known  to  me  in  this  country  is  forty-nine !  Twenty-six 
of  these  have  combined  to  form  the  Garden  Club  of  America 
(founded  by  the  Garden  Club  of  Philadelphia),  whose  hon- 
orary president  was  the  late  Mrs.  C.  Stuart  Patterson,  and 
whose  president  is  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin.  The  stated  objects 
of  this  society  are:  "To  stimulate  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  gardening  among  amateurs,  to  share  the  advantages  of 
association  through  conference  and  correspondence  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  to  aid  in  the  protection  of  native  plants 
and  birds,  and  to  encourage  civic  planting."  In  "American 
Homes  and  Gardens,"  August,  1914,  appears  an  article  on 
the  association,  by  Mrs.  Arthur  H.  Scribner,  written  with 
sympathy  and  charm. 

The  best  garden  club  is  doubtless  yet  to  be  formed;  it 
can  now  be  a  composite.  It  will  adopt  the  more  important 
and  practical  plans  of  those  already  in  existence;  it  may  start 
with  the  benefit  of  their  experience.  Existing  clubs  are  al- 
ready recognized,  reference  to  our  gardening  journals  shows, 
as  powerful  factors  for  the  right  development  of  horticulture 
in  America.  May  their  tribe  increase ! 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ACHILLEA   PTAEMICA,   23,   32,   34; 

pearl,  50;  white,  246 
Acidanthera  bicolor,  177 
Aconites,  late,  248,  250 
Actinidia  arguta,  257 
Ageratum,   blue,   70,   71,   73,   255; 

Stella  Gurney,  148,  152,  156,  175 
Alpine  Flowers  and  Gardens  of  Japan, 

Flemwell,  235 
Altheas,  95 
Alyssum,  30,  84;  saxatile,  104;  sul- 

phureum,  132;  hardy,  136;  sweet, 

253,  255. 

American  Gardens,  Lowell,  136 
Anchusa  Italica,  47;  Dropmore,  69, 

112,  141,  168,  243 
Anemones,  Japanese,  151,  198,  245, 

246,248 

Antirrhinum,  Purple  King,  177 
Apple-trees,  dwarf,  257 
Aquilegia  chrysantha,  see  columbine 
Arabis,  10,  30,  31,  49,  50,  228 
Arbor,  246 
Arnott,  S.,  99 
Art    and    Craft    of   Garden-making, 

Mawson,  236 
Aster,   hardy,   36,   37,   43,   44,   74; 

Ostrich  Plume,  146;  James  Ganly, 

148,  177 
Aubrietia,  10,  92.  124;  with  tulips, 

140,228 

BABY'S  BREATH,  see  gypsophila 
Bailey's  Encyclopcedia,  221,  222 
Balsams,  salmon-pink,  110,  151 
Basket,  Vickery  Garden,  181,  184; 

Munstead,   185;  sweet-pea,   186; 

bucket-shaped,  187 


Begonia,  10 

Bittersweet,  257 

Blanket  flower,  see  gaillardia 

Bleeding-heart  (dicentra),  18,  248 

Bloodroot,  16,  60 

Border,    double,     131,    202,    244; 

white,  246,  247;  of  annuals,  252 
Bowles,  E.  A.,  96,  99, 185;  books  by, 

237 

Box-tree,  253 
Boyle,  The  Honorable  Mrs.,  books 

by,  234 
Brodiaeas,  248 
Buddleia,  176 
Bulb  Planter,  Cross-roads,  187 

CALENDULAS,  Orange  King,  Sul- 
phur Queen,  42 

Camellia  Japonica,  264 

Campanula,  hardy,  32;  Die  Fee,  45; 
pyramidalis,  45,  48,  110,  246; 
persicifolia,  159;  carpatica,  243; 
peach-leaved,  250 

Candytuft,  hardy,  11;  hyacinth- 
flowered,  261 

Canterbury  bells,  31,  32,  46,  48-50. 
109,  111,  161 

Century  Magazine,  The,  67 

Cerastium,  243 

Chamomile,  35 

Chrysanthemum,  Garza,  153 ;  French, 
172,  245 

Chrysanthemum  Society  of  France, 
7,  15,  226 

Cinerarias,  10 

Clarkia  elegans,  36;  Salmon  Queen, 


Clematis,  purple,  13;  recta,  61 


285 


INDEX 


Color  chart,  15.  226.  227 

Color  effects,  Ruskin  quoted,  1,  2; 
use  of  trial  garden  for,  53 

Color  in  the  Flower  Garden,  Jekyll, 
13;  quoted,  14,  15,  222-224 

Color  Standards  and  Color  Nomen- 
clature, Ridgway,  227 

Columbine,  early,  see  Aquilegia 
chrysantha,  27,  32;  yellow,  45; 
white,  hybrid,  108;  with  iris,  141; 
Rocky  Mountain,  248,  250 

Cosmos,  48;  early-flowering,  178 

Crambe  eordifolia,  11,  54;  orientalis, 
83 

Crocus,  purpureus,  17,  79-81 ;  Maxi- 
milian. 78,  95;  Reine  Blanche.  79. 
82,  94,  95;  collecting,  88;  Mont 
Blanc,  93,  95;  Mme.  Mina,  95,  96; 
Susianus,  97;  Sieberi,  97;  Korol- 
kowi.  98;  "Scotch,"  98;  Tom- 
masinianus,  98;  May  and  Doro- 
thy. 98;  Kathleen  Parlow.  99 

DAFFODIL,  double  16;  cream-white, 
43;  Jacobs's  list,  58,  60,  88; 
trumpets,  yellow,  white,  and 
bicolor,  68;  yellow  perianths, 
pheasant  eyes,  doubles,  and 
bunch-flowered,  59;  Eyebright, 
Firefly,  and  Elvira,  59,  60;  with 
peonies,  87,  88;  true  place  for,  139; 
books  on,  229,  230,  245.  248 

Daffodils,  Jacobs,  229,  230 

Dahlia,  6,  145;  in  border,  254; 
scarlet,  white,  and  Golden  West, 
262 

Daisies,  common,  32,  159;  Shasta, 
33,  202,  253 

Daphne  odorata,  266 

Delphiniums,  blue,  10,  11,  13;  pale- 
blue,  32;  Belladonna,  33;  Cantab. 
33,  160,  232;  chinensis,  34,  46.  72; 
dark-blue,  159;  La  France,  159, 
160.  Mme.  Violet  Geslin,  160; 
Kelway's  Lovely,  160;  Persim- 
mon, 160;  Statuaire  Rude,  161; 


Alake.    161  ;     Moerheimi.    162 ; 

early,  259 

Dcutzia  Lemoineii,  107 
Dianthus,  36;  hardy.  Her  Majesty, 

43 

Divers,  W.  H.,  228 
Dogtooth  violet,  77 
Dragonhead,  47 
Dutch  Bulbs  and  Gardens,   Nixon, 

Silberrad.  and  Lyall,  235 

EGAN,  W.  C.,  9;  use  of  Bordeaux 
mixture,  188 

Elder,  common,  21 

English  Flower  Garden,  The,  Robin- 
son, 236 

Eremuri,  243;  Erigeron,  243 

Eryngium,  163 

FARR,  Bertram?  H.,  his  list  of 
Oriental  poppies,  167 

Ferns,  243,  249 

Feverfews,  246 

Flower  Fields  of  Alpine  Switzerland, 
Flemwell,  235 

Flowers  and  Gardens  of  Japan,  Du 
Cane,  235 

Flowers  of  the  Alpine  Valleys,  Flem- 
well, 77 

Forbes,  54 

Forget-me-not,  see  Myosotis 

Formal  Garden  in  England,  The, 
Blomfield.  236 

Foxgloves,  32;  perennial,  159,  252, 
259 

Fruit-tree,  dwarf,  72 

Funkias,  11 

GAILLARDIA,  21,  22 

Galtonias,  145 

Garden,  formal,  11;  experiments 
with,  65;  clipped  trees  in  a,  68, 
195;  trial,  53-57;  of  phloxes,  55; 
"wild,"  67;  Mrs.  Tyson's,  at 
Berwick,  Me.,  67;  Miss  Will- 
mott's,  Warley,  Eng..  72;  Mr. 


INDEX 


Chas.  A.  Platt's,  Saginaw,  Mich., 
73;  repetition  in,  74;  flower  cut- 
ting in,  194-196; sunken,  242,  254; 
at  Gates  Mills,  O.,  244,  245;  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  246-251; 
on  Nantucket  Island,  251-253;  at 
Swampscott,  Mass.,  253-255;  ter- 
raced, 255;  Fernbrook  Farm,  at 
Lenox,  Mass.,  256-258;  Fancy 
Field,  at  Chestnut  Hill,  near 
Philadelphia,  258,  259;  near  Ta- 
coma,  260-262;  walled,  262;  for- 
mal garden  near  Mount  Tacoma, 
262,  263;  lily-pool  in,  263;  of 
Glendessary,  263-266 

Garden,  The,  Rev.  Joseph  Jacob, 
quoted,  58 

Garden  Color,  Waterfield,  227,  228 

Garden  Design,  Agar,  236 

GardenMagazine,  The,  Miller,  quoted, 
33,  182,  203 

Garden  Month  by  Month,  The, 
Sedgwick,  15,  225 

Garden  of  Ignorance,  The,  Cran,  238 

Garden  of  Pleasure,  A,  Boyle,  234 

Gardener,  the,  attitude  toward,  208- 
211;  classification  of,  212;  salary 
of,  214-218;  training  of,  214 

Gardeners'  Chronicle,  134 

Gardener's  Year,  A,  Haggard,  230, 
231 

Gardening  Donts,  Chappell,  238 

Geranium,  23;  Beaute  Parfaite,  151; 
pink,  199,  200;  Vincent  list,  200; 
Regal  pelargonium,  201;  cactus- 
flowering,  201;  Berthe  de  Presilly, 
201;  Alpha,  Baron  Grubbisch, 
Rosalda,  201;  white,  254 

Gladiolus,  Baron  Hulot,  7,  28,  153, 
172;  purple,  13,  28,  48,  69; 
William  Falconer,  37,  69,  155; 
Niagara  and  Panama,  145,  147, 
148;  Badenia,  146,  174;  Amer- 
ica, 147,  155,  172;  Peace,  Dawn, 
and  Afterglow,  149-151;  Taconia, 
Philadelphia,  and  Evolution,  151; 


Rosella,  153;  Senator  Volland, 
153;  Buchanan,  Snowbird,  La 
Luna,  California,  and  Princess 
Altiere,  154;  Sulphur  King,  155; 
Kunderd's  Glory,  155;  Mrs.  Frank 
Pendleton,  Jr.,  155,  171;  primu- 
linus  hybrids,  165,  170;  Display, 
166,  170 

Gladiolus  Grower,  The  Modern,  146 
Gladiolus  Society,  American,  7,  146 
Guild   of  the   Garden   Lovers,    The, 

O'Brien,  238 

Gypsophila,  11;  annual,  32;  pani- 
culata,  32,  33,  50,  164,  169; 
elegans,  73;  in  bud,  110;  in  mass, 
162;  double,  165;  gray,  261 

HABRANTHTJS,  243 

Happy  England,  Allingham,  77 

Hedges,  privet  ibota,  35,  253;  box, 

privet  and  poplar,  259;  enclosing, 

264 

Helianthus  orgyalis,  177 
Heliotrope,  7;  deep  purple,  34,  65, 

70;  dark,  156,  198,  255;  Tennant 

Spencer,  262 
Hepatica,  77,  79 
Heuchera,  11;  sanguinea,  34,  55-57, 

127,  243,  248 
Hollyhocks,  10, 11,  lemon  and  white, 

35,   50,   66,   72;   rose-pink,    163; 

border  of,  254 

Honeysuckles,  bush,  107,  111 
Houses  and  Gardens,   Baillie-Scott, 

235 
Hyacinth,  Wood,  3,  8;  Holbein,  20, 

83;  Heavenly  Blue  grape,  28,  43, 

78,  92,  93;  Lord  Derby,  80,  81,  83; 

summer,  245 

Hydrangea,  white,  11,  126,  164 
Hypericum,  243 

IBERIS  Gibraltarica,  30,  50 

Iris,  5;  German,  English,  Siberian, 

and  Dutch,  5;  reticulata,  14,  79; 

dwarf,  18;  Germanica,  19,  48,  66, 


287 


INDEX 


185, 141 ;  pallida,110, 127. 132, 136; 

English,  111;  Kaempferi,  132, 133, 

253,  255;  Mauve  Queen,  132,  133; 

Japanese,  5,  133,  253;  Crusader, 

139,  243,  245,  248 
Italian  cypress,  264 
Ixias,  248 

JACOB,  Reverend  Joseph,  quoted,  91, 

92,  229 

Japanese  quince,  80,  83 
Jar,  Mexican,  266 
Jasmine,  yellow  Southern,  264 
Jekyll,  Miss,  quoted,  13-15;  on  use 

of  sea-holly,  22,  57,  86,  184,  199; 

books  by,  224,  228,  235 
Jonquils,  Campernelle,  30 

LABELS,  62,  185 

Lamium  maculatum,  85 

Larkspur,  annual,  12,  32,  261; 
Salvia  patens,  46 

Laurel  nobilis,  264 

Lemon  verbena,  266 

Lilacs,  18,  85;  with  tulips,  140 

Lilies,  white,  10;  orange,  10;  Lilium 
elegans,  21;  longiflorum,  33;  can- 
didum,  35,  48,  50,  66;  plantain, 
73;  orange,  superbum,  170;  Ma- 
donna, 243,  248;  water-lily,  243; 
yellow,  245 

Live  Oaks,  165 

Loniceras,  108 

Lotus-tank,  266 

Love-in-the-mist,  36 

Lupines,  127,  248 

Lyme  grass,  blue,  87,  69;  with 
gladioli,  149 

MAHONIA,  16,  83 

Mallow,  14 

Mertensia  Virginica,  125 

Michaelmas  Daisy,  see  Aster 

Montbretias,  245 

Mullein,  72 

Muscari,  see  Hyacinth 


My  Garden,  Philpotts,  231,  232 
My  Garden  in  Autumn,  Bowles,  237 
My  Garden  in  Spring,  Bowles,  237 
My  Garden  in  Summer,  Bowles,  237 
Myosotis,    19,    29;   early,    28;   dis- 
sitiflora,   43;  Button's  Perfection 
and  Button's  Royal  Blue,  48,  124; 
hardy,  84,  93,  132-135,  138 

NARCISSUS,  Orange  Phoenix,  16; 
poeticus,  gardenia,  16,  226;  Em- 
peror, Cynosure,  41;  listed,  58 

Nemesia,  blue,  13 

PALMS,  Chamerops  excelsa,  264 

Pansy,  4;  purple,  261 

Peacock's  Pleasaunce,  The,  Boyle,  234 

Peas,  purple,  sweet,  13;  Countess 
Spencer,  27;  everlasting,  47; 
Sterling  Stent,  165;  lavender,  261, 
262;  white,  262 

Pentstemon,  163,  202 

Peonies,  31,  32,  49,  50,  57,  88; 
Mme.  Emile  Galle,  132,  159,  160; 
white,  246,  248 

Pergola,  259;  sapling,  261 

Petunia,  7;  single,  13;  velvet- 
purple,  146 

Phloxes,  perennial,  3,  4,  61;  annual, 
11;  purple,  13;  Pantheon,  22,  36, 
61,  163,  175;  Eugene  Danzanvil- 
liers,  4,  23,  34,  61,  148;  Drum- 
mond,  Chamois  Rose,  31,  34,  37, 
69;  Antonin  Mercie,  4,  6,  61,  163, 
176,  177;  Lord  Rayleigh,  4,  6,  32, 
34,  61,  70;  Fiancee,  36;  pink,  43; 
white,  50;  dwarf,  54;  garden  of, 
55;  Aurore  Boreale,  23,  36,  68; 
Von  Lassberg,  4,  23,  36,  71; 
Jeanne  d'Arc,  71,  176;  R.  P. 
Stru thers,  61,  163;  Coquelicot,  23, 
36,  62,  163,  175;  Fernando  Cortez, 
22,  36,  62,  69;  Tapis  Blanc,  72, 
163;  Von  Hochberg,  148;  su- 
bulata,  83,  84;  divaricata,  84,  124; 
decussata,  149;  Goliath,  173; 


INDEX 


Rhynstrom,  175;  Von  Dedem,  175; 
Braga,  175;  Widar,  175 

Photography,  garden,  188 

Physalis,  the  Chinese-lantern  plant, 
257 

Physostegia  (Virginica  rosea),  6,  36, 
47;  white,  69;  rosy,  154 

Pinks,  31;  annual  and  hardy,  32; 
scented,  white,  44,  261 

Planting,  balanced,  68,  253;  alter- 
nate, 202;  planting-cards,  203; 
successive,  249 

Platycodons,  48;  grandiflorum  al- 
bum, 166;  pearly- white,  178 

Poker  flower,  73,  245 

Poppy,  34;  White  Swan,  42;  Ice- 
land, 42;  Oriental,  44,  127,  128, 
166,  248;  double,  pink,  112,  165; 
Princess  Victoria  Luise,  167;  com- 
binations of,  168,  169;  see  Farr 
list,  167;  Shirley,  167;  Mahony 
and  Rose  Queen,  168 

Present  Day  Gardening,  Jacobs,  229 

Primrose,  4;  Munstead,  30,  49,  84; 
pale-yellow,  124,  228 

Puschkinia,  81,  82,  107 

Pyrethrum,  rose,  31;  single,  159 

Pyrus  Japonica,  82 

RAFFIA  tape,  183,  194 

Repertoire  de  Couleurs,  7,  15.  226 

Rhododendron,  8 

Ribbon  grass,  124 

Rodgersia,  33 

Roses,  3;  Frau  Karl  Druschki,  27; 
climbing,  34,  265;  yellow,  44; 
ramblers,  crimson,  3, 10;  baby,  34, 
49,  62;  pink,  260;  yellow,  44;  Lady 
Gay,  34,  62;  Excelsa,  62;  Rosa 
Nitida,  110;  Wichuraiana,  20; 
spinosissima,  141;  with  gladioli, 
149;  Annchen  Mueller,  160;  Con- 
rad F.  Mayer,  163;  Mme.  Alfred 
Carriere,  La  Marque,  Olga  of 
WUrtemberg,  Celine  Forestier,  and 
Beauty  of  Glazenwood,  265 


Ruskin,  quoted,  3,  80 
Rustic  tea-house,  261 

SALPIGLOSSIS,  11,  13;  Faust,  148 
Salvia,  blue,  13;  patens,  36.  37.  46; 

farinacea,   37;   azurea,   146,   153, 

245 

Scabiosa  Japonica,  34 
Scilla  Sibirica,  blue,  16,  17,  79,  94; 

campanulata,   28,   104,   108,   109; 

Excelsior,   141;  245,  May-flower- 
ing, 248 

Scottish  Gardens,  Maxwell,  235 
Scribners  Magazine,  "The  Point  of 

View,"  quoted  on  geraniums,  199 
Sea-holly,  22,  36,  62,  162,  163,  164 
Sea-lavender,  see  Statice 
Seasons  in  a  Flower  Garden,    The, 

Shelton,  15,  225 
Seven  Gardens  and  a  Palace,  Boyle, 

234 

Shasta  daisies   23,  33,  261 
Shelton,  Louise,  225 
Snapdragon,  35,  146 
Snowball,  Japan,  73 
Snowdrop,  50,  245 
Some  English  Gardens,  Elgood  and 

Jekyll,  235 
Spireas,  33;  Spiraea  Thunbergii,  84; 

Astilbe    Arendsii,    Die    WalkUre, 

132.  136;  Van  Houteii,  137 
Sprays,     Bordeaux     mixture     and 

X.  L.  All.  188 
Spring  beauties,  77 
Spring  Gardening  at  Beluoir  Castle, 

228 

Stachys  lanata,  110 
Statice,  11,  27,  34;  incana,  110,  164; 

bonduelli,    163,    164,    169,    177; 

latifolia,  164,  253;  sinuata,  mauve, 

169,  252 
Stocks,  13;  white  and  purple,  34,  36; 

pink,  37;  Button's  Perfection,  45 
Stokesia  cyanea,  34,  46 
Studies  in  Gardening,  quoted,  208, 

236 


INDEX 


Success  in  Gardening,  Frothingham, 

225 
Summer  Garden  of  Pleasure,    The, 

Batson,  237 
Sun-dial,  245,  256 
Sunflower,  Dwarf  Primrose,  177 
Swainsonia,  264 
Sweetbrier,  31 
Sweet-william,    31;    dark   red,    46; 

Button's  Pink  Beauty,  56;  white, 

246 
Sylvana's   Letters   to   an    Unknown 

Friend,  Boyle,  234 
Syringas,  31 

THALICTRUMS,  249 

Therraopsis  Carolinians,  28,  32,  68 

Thrift,  10 

Tools,  184 

Tritoma,  73 

Trowel,  181 

Tulips,  8, 19;  Kaufmanniana,  16, 17, 
82,  94,  99;  double,  20;  retroflexa, 
28,  30,  43,  93,  138,  142;  Keizer- 
kroon,  8,  233;  Vermilion  Bril- 
liant, 41,  83,  124;  Flora  Wilson, 
30;  Yellow  Rose,  44,  132,  134; 
Cottage  Maid,  49;  Gesneriana,  49; 
Vitellina,  82, 104;  La  Merveille,  83; 
Couleur  Cardinal,  20,  30,  83,  124, 
138;  Darwin,  Clara  Butt,  19; 
Ewbank,  19,  122;  Rembrandt,  85, 
140;  La  Tulipe  Noir,  85;  Krelage 
list,  86;  Vitellina,  82;  La  Merveille, 
84;  Fanny,  Count  of  Leicester, 
Wouverman,  Carl  Becker,  Giant, 
and  Konigin  Emma,  85;  Bouton 
d'Or,  125;  Darwin:  Fawn,  105, 


and  Faust,  106;  grouping  of,  104; 
varieties  of,  106;  Breeder,  106; 
Flava,  117,  141;  Nauticas,  118; 
Mauve  Clair,  119;  Zomerschoon, 
119,  123;  Moonlight  and  Spren- 
geri,  120;  Francis  Darwin  and 
Edmee,  12SL;  Le  Reve,  125,  137; 
border  suggested,  125,  127;  Ag- 
neta,  132,  134;  Gudin,  134;  Wil- 
liam Copeland,  134;  La  Fiancee, 
137;  Heloise,  138;  Hohenberg,  138; 
May-flowering,  123;  combination 
with  other  plants,  124;  Picotee, 
124;  Jubilee,  137;  Avis  Kennicott, 
137;  among  evergreens,  138; 
Bougainville  Duran,  140;  with 
lilacs,  140;  Ewbank,  Bleu  Celeste, 
Morales,  Innocence,  and  La  Can- 
deur,  141;  "lily-flowered,"  141 
Tulips,  Jacob,  126 

VERBENA,  7,  11;  Beauty  of  Oxford, 
23,  35,  49;  Dolores,  149,  174,  177 

Veronica,  pale-purple,  264 

Vines,  Vitis  Thunbergii,  Californica, 
aconitifolia,  megaphylla,  231 

Violas,  13,  30;  white,  50,  228 

Violet,  wild,  4;  sweet,  white,  50; 
dogtooth,  77 

WATERFIELD,  235 

Wistaria,  white,  265 

Wood  and  Garden,  Jekyll,  quoted,  14 

YUCCAS,  245 

ZINNIA,  36;  "Flesh-color,"  42,  70, 
136;  cream-white,  164.  202 


290 


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